(Washington, D.C.) – Creating the United Kingdom Electronic Crimes Task Force, the
United States Secret Service has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Serious
Organised Crime Agency. The task force, based on the U.S. Secret Service’s highly
successful domestic Electronic Crimes Task Force model, will be based in London, England,
to provide a forum through which U.S. and European law enforcement agencies, the private
sector and academia can collaborate to investigate, suppress and prevent computer-related
crimes. In July 2009, The Secret Service created the first European Electronic Crimes Task
Force, based in Rome, Italy.
The joint agreement, signed in London by U.S. Secret Service Assistant Director for
Investigations Michael Merritt and the U.K.’s Serious Organised Crime Agency Director
General William Hughes, creates new opportunities to share relevant insight, expertise and
resources between the international law enforcement community to combat the transnational
cyber crimes which threaten the financial security of businesses and individuals worldwide.
“The Secret Service believes that building trusted partnerships between all levels of law
enforcement is the right model for facing the challenges of securing cyberspace,” Secret Service
Director Mark Sullivan said of the new agreement. “We believe that partnerships at the
international level are essential in combating the ever-changing landscape of cybercrimes.”
The Electronic Crimes Task Force (ECTF) approach developed by the Secret Service has
generated unprecedented partnerships among law enforcement at the local, state, federal and,
now, international level, the private sector and academia. The types of investigations
handled by the ECTFs encompass a wide range of computer-based criminal activity.
Examples include network intrusions, hacking cases, identity theft and other computer
related crimes affecting financial and other critical infrastructures.
The Secret Service has a rich history of working collaboratively with other law enforcement
agencies and believes in partnerships versus membership, where there is a strong emphasis
on prevention and education, in addition to traditional law enforcement measures. The ECTF
model provides a productive framework and collaborative crime-fighting environment in
which the resources of its participants can be combined to effectively and efficiently make a
significant impact on cybercrime. Other law enforcement agencies bring additional criminal
enforcement jurisdiction and resources to the task force, while representatives from private
industry and academia bring a wealth of technical expertise and research capabilities.
About the United States Secret Service
The U.S. Secret Service has taken a lead role in mitigating the threat of financial crimes since
the agency’s inception in 1865. As technology has evolved, the scope of the U.S. Secret
Service’s mission has expanded from its original counterfeit currency investigations to also
include emerging financial crimes. As a component agency within the U.S. Department of
Homeland Security, the U.S. Secret Service has established successful partnerships in both
the law enforcement and business communities – across the country and around the world –
in order to effectively combat financial crimes.