Washington State's New Resource for Fighting Cyber Crime

Monroe, WA -- The first Washington State Chapter of the High Technology Crime Investigation Association (HTCIA) has been established, with founding members representing Microsoft, Safeco, and various law enforcement agencies.

The HTCIA is a partnership between law enforcement and private industry, and serves as a venue for members to share their collective experiences as well as techniques for fighting and investigating computer related crimes. Members will be developing and maintaining training programs related to computer crime, computer security, and cyber-related terrorist activities. The partnership will allow for the sharing of resources and expertise to enhance efforts throughout the state in combating cyber crime.

"The growth of technology has also brought forth new opportunities for those individuals who want to use it as a vehicle for committing crimes. Members of law enforcement and those from the private sector need to work together to combat these crimes, and the HTCIA will be the venue," chapter President Steve Hailey said. "Establishing a HTCIA Chapter marks another milestone on our journey to fight cyber crime in Washington. The HTCIA will be a driving force to further educate those with the responsibility of combating cyber crime, and will be involved in educating our citizens to help prevent them from becoming victims."

The chapter will be providing regular training sessions to members on topics such as investigating network intrusions, surveilling network and Internet activity, identity theft, financial fraud and gathering evidence from cell phones and personal digital assistants. "Our membership consists of professional trainers and some of the most experienced technology experts in the state," said chapter Secretary Mike Andrew. "Those in our profession require continuous training that can cost thousands for a single class. The training available via our chapter will be one of the biggest benefits of membership."

Edmonds Community College has donated meeting space and resources for the chapter to use. The HTCIA members will be able to take advantage of the information security and digital forensics labs at the college, which are equipped with forensic workstations, various types of servers, and comprehensive suites of security tools and industry standard forensic software.

For more information on the Washington State HTCIA, visit www.wahtcia.org.