Over the last few years, the drastic surge in cybercrime incidents has urged the House of Representatives to pass the Better Cybercrime Metrics Act. Security professionals believe that accurate information on cyber-related incidents is one of the first steps to improving the nation’s cybersecurity. The House-approved act will help law enforcement agencies better identify cyber threats, prevent attacks, and prosecute cyber crimes. In this article at Infosecurity Magazine, Sarah Coble discusses the key takeaways of the bill.
How Will the Bill Improve Federal Cybercrime Metrics?
The bill—introduced by Senator Brian Schatz—provides guidelines on improving cybercrime data and promises to offer federal law enforcement more tools to combat cyber attacks. Once signed into law, the Better Cybercrime Metrics Act will encourage local and federal law enforcement agencies to report cyber incidents in their jurisdiction to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Key Points of the Act
- The National Academy of Sciences must create a taxonomy to categorize cybercrime in consultation with criminologists and federal, state, local, and tribal stakeholders. The taxonomy will help the FBI classify incidents within the National Incident-Based Reporting System.
- The Department of Justice must include cybercrime questions as part of its National Crime Victimization survey.
- The Government Accountability Office must report the effectiveness of current cybercrime mechanisms. Furthermore, the agency must highlight disparities in reporting data between cybercrime data and other types of crime data.
Experts believe that the Better Cybercrime Metrics Act will give the U.S. government and the broader security community a complete picture of the problem instead of only data collection and analysis. The government can then take a more effective defense strategy to combat cybercrimes and attacks.
“As cybercriminals continue to target vulnerable populations, this data will help lawmakers make an informed case for policy changes to curtain the cybercrime wave, keep Americans safe, and bring these criminals to justice,” states Senator Schatz’s office in the release.
To read the original article, click on https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/house-passes-better-cybercrime/.
