Collaborative effort targets South Dakota cybercrime

Three South Dakota entities recently joined forces to combat what they said is the ever-increasing issue of cybercrime, aided by a new Sioux Falls cyber intelligence analyst.

The state Department of Public Safety and the Sioux Falls Police Department will provide funding for the post, which will be headquartered at the state Fusion Center in Sioux Falls. The analyst would also partner with cybersecurity efforts currently undertaken at Dakota State University in Madison.

“Businesses of all sizes, in cities and towns large or small, are targets of cybercriminals,” Craig Price, cabinet secretary of the Department of Public Safety, said. “This position will be a great asset to keep South Dakota citizens and businesses safer from the threat of cybercrime.”

The analyst is expected to focus on both incident response and incident prevention via open-source cyber intelligence to help citizens, businesses, and law enforcement entities address cybercrime.

“Methods used by cybercriminals are always changing, so the connection with the law enforcement technology and cyber research at Dakota State University will be an invaluable resource for the analyst to remain current with cyberattack techniques,” Trevor Jones, the director of Digital Forensics Services at Dakota State’s DigForCE Lab, said.

Cybersecurity industry experts estimate cybercrime will cost the world $6 trillion annually.