Rep. Ratcliffe’s cybercrime bill advanced House, companion bill introduced in Senate

A bill to provide state and local law enforcement offices with tools to combat cybercrime recently advanced the U.S. House of Representatives.

The Strengthening State and Local Cyber Crime Fighting Act of 2017 was introduced by U.S. Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-TX).

Ratcliffe’s bill authorizes the National Computer Forensics Institute (NCFI), a cybercrime fighting training center located in Hoover, Alabama. The center has trained more than 6,200 local officials spanning all 50 states, with its graduates working in more than 2,000 agencies across the country.

A companion bill was introduced in the U.S. Senate by U.S. Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA). U.S. Sens. Richard Shelby (R-AL), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Luther Strange (R-AL) cosponsored the Senate bill.

“The dedicated men and women in law enforcement deserve to have every tool possible at their disposal to combat rapidly evolving threats in cyberspace,” Ratcliffe said. “Whether it’s an email that was sent, an online purchase that was made or geolocation information that places an individual at the scene of the crime – digital evidence now plays a role in virtually every crime law enforcement officers face today.”

Ratcliffe currently serves as Chairman of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection.