The Department of Justice (DOJ) is the federal agency that houses the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS). CCIPS is a part of the criminal division of the DOJ and focuses on both computer crimes and intellectual property crimes. These crimes continue to increase and impact the entire world, and CCIPS is needed to solve these borderless computer crimes.
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What does the Department of Justice Do?
The DOJ is the federal agency that enforces federal law. The DOJ is a part of the executive branch and the US attorney general heads the DOJ. The attorney general reports to the US President and has a team of assistant attorney generals that will try criminal crimes where individuals are accused of a crime.
CCIPS has three primary goals which include:
- Detering and disrupting computer and intellectual property crime by bringing and supporting key investigations and prosecutions,
- Guiding the proper collection of electronic evidence by investigators and prosecutors, and
- Providing technical and legal advice and assistance to agents and prosecutors in the U.S. and around the world.
It is important to understand what Computer Crimes and Intellectual Property Crimes are.
What are Computer Crimes?
Computer crimes, also known as cybercrimes, are unlawful acts that involve the use of a computer. Cybercrimes typically include phishing, cyberterrorism, ransomware, and more. These computer crimes are committed by both private individuals and foreign governments that aim to steal money, top secret information, and want to negatively impact computer networks. “The most expensive computer security incidents were those involving financial fraud”, according to “CSI computer crime and security survey” from Computer security institute by Robery Richardson, and C.S.I. Director.
CCIPS works to investigate and prosecute cybercrimes that are committed both domestically and internationally. Intellectual property crimes also are also prosecuted by CCIPS as well.
What are Intellectual Property Crimes?
Intellectual Property (IP) crimes are unlawful acts against another person’s or company’s copyright, trademark, or patent. Many of the crimes involve counterfeiting and pirating. IP crimes have cost companies billions of dollars in revenue and CCIPS is needed to help deter many of the bad acts.
Why Does CCIPS Prosecute Cyber Crimes?
CCIPS is needed to investigate and prosecute cybercrimes because both individuals and countries participate in cybercrimes. When a country or sophisticated hacker commits a computer crime, CCIPS operating as the government will prosecute these crimes. In most countries, the government is responsible for prosecuting crimes. CCIPS has lawyers that specialize in both computer and IP crimes, and will have the necessary resources to prove the crimes occurred by the individual(s) or nation.
