FBI Director Robert S. Mueller
III today announced the selection of sites for three regional
computer forensic laboratories (RCFLs) in Kansas City,
Chicago, and the San Francisco Bay Area, launching a long-term
national effort to expand law enforcement’s capabilities
nationwide. These laboratories give the FBI and participating
federal, state, and local agencies a powerful tool in
the fight against terrorism, white-collar crime, violent
crime, and national infrastructure protection. The three
RCFLs are scheduled to begin operations within the next
year.
The RCFL
is a partnership between the FBI and other law enforcement
of the federal, state, and local governments operating
within a geographic area. The purpose of the RCFL is to
provide forensic examinations of digital media, such as
computers, in support of an investigation and/or prosecution
of federal, state, or local crimes.
Director
Mueller said, “The RCFL Program is a critical component
in our efforts to support state and local law enforcement
agencies nationwide. By combining the extraordinary talents
and resources of law enforcement agencies at all levels,
our ability to investigate criminals and detect and prevent
acts of terrorism becomes considerably more robust.”
The widespread
use of computers has led to an increasing number of cases
in which computer media is seized as evidence. Between
1998 and 2001, the number of computer forensic examinations
rose nearly 650 percent. RCFLs will assist law enforcement
in meeting this growing caseload.
Currently,
the FBI is participating in two pilot RCFL projects: one
in San Diego, which opened in November, 2000 and one in
North Texas which opened in early 2001. Positive results
have been achieved at both sites. For example, the North
Texas site played a key role in processing the majority
of the computers used by known terrorists involved in
the September 11th attacks. In another case, the North
Texas RCFL assisted the Dallas Police Department with
a computer intrusion case. In that case, a computer forensic
examination helped identify an individual responsible
for hacking into the computers of Dallas area companies
and then attempting to sell his services as a highly paid
computer intrusion expert. This individual eventually
pled guilty to all charges.
Computer
forensic examiners use a variety of methods to discover
data that resides in a computer system, or to recover
deleted, encrypted or damaged file information. The sharing
of information and computer forensic techniques has been,
and will increasingly continue to be an important tool
for law enforcement.
The RCFLs
will be FBI-affiliated and initially funded through federal
allocations. Once the laboratories are operational, participating
law enforcement agencies will fund the RCFL.
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