County Prosecutor's Office Joining Cyber Terrorism Task Force

From email scams to malicious hackers, there's no ignoring the fact that crime is going high-tech.

To combat that growing technological influence, the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office has been established as the southern regional hub for a joint Cyber Terrorism Task Force under an agreement with the State Police, the prosecutor's office said Tuesday.

The task force will investigate attempts to use technology for espionage or to disrupt corporate or private computer systems as an act of terrorism, as well as large-scale fraud conspiracies where computer networks or systems are used to get money for terrorist organizations.

“This important agreement allows the New Jersey State Police and county law enforcement agencies to address critical training and equipment needs in an intelligent and effective manner to confront a cyber terrorism threat,” said Col. Rick Fuentes, superintendent of New Jersey State Police. “The creation of the Task Force allows for each county to have a resident detective trained and equipped to respond to cyber events.”

Gloucester County Prosecutor Sean F. Dalton said he's pleased his office will be working alongside troopers on cybercrime investigations.

“This agreement establishes a regional approach to fighting cybercrime that will provide a seamless, effective response by law enforcement to a growing problem,” he said.

Under a memorandum of understanding signed earlier this year by New Jersey Attorney General Paula Dow, Fuentes and Dalton, the GCPO’s high-tech crime unit in Woodbury has been expanded to accommodate several State Police investigators and officers from municipal police departments on an as-needed basis. They will share space with the two-officer GCPO High-Tech Crimes Unit.

The 30-month agreement allows for individual officers to work task force duty for at least six months at a time, with supervision coming from the State Police Cyber Crimes Unit. Participating officers may be required to undergo background checks required for clearance by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, according to the memorandum.

The county prosecutor's office has some experience in this arena already; Sgt. Steven LaPorta of the GCPO High-Tech Crimes Unit said the county's been involved in all incidents involving computer investigations since 2004.

To date, state troopers have come to the GCPO offices to assist on some investigations and other technical matters, LaPorta said.

“The presence of the troopers will be on a limited, as-needed and reactive basis,” he said.