FBI builds cybercrime division

By Robert Lemos
Staff Writer, CNET News.com Published: December 3, 2001 4:50 PM PST

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The FBI announced Monday that, as part of its latest reorganization, the agency is forming a Cybercrime Division to handle intellectual-property, high-tech and computer crimes.

The new organization shifts 11 existing divisions into four new units, said spokeswoman Deborah Weierman.

The Cybercrime Division will be paired with the Criminal Investigation Division under Ruben Garcia Jr., the new executive assistant director for Criminal Investigations. The three other divisions are Counterterrorism/Counterintelligence, Law Enforcement Services, and Administration.

Garcia previously was the assistant director of the Criminal Investigative Division.

The reorganization is only the first of two phases, the FBI said in a statement. The second phase will aim to eliminate duplication of efforts.

The FBI did not announce where the National Infrastructure Protection Center (NIPC), the interagency group that tracks cybercrimes, would fit in the new picture. Although certain aspects of the organization could be part of the Criminal Investigation Division, others belong in the Counterterrorism/Counterintelligence Division.