This bill would establish a National Computer Forensics Institute (NCFI) to be operated by the U.S. Secret Service to disseminate information related to homeland security investigations of cyber and electronic crime. It would operate within the Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS).

The NCFI would distribute information related to threats or acts of terrorism, while also educating and training law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and judges at the state and local levels of government.

Specifically, the NCFI:

• Must provide education and training on investigation methods, computer and mobile device forensic exams, network intrusion incidents, and methods to obtain, process, store, and admit digital evidence in court;

• Must ensure that timely, actionable, and relevant expertise and homeland security information related to cyber and electronic crime is shared with such officers, prosecutors, and judges;

• May provide officers, prosecutors, and judges with computer equipment and tools or such investigations and examinations.

The Secret Service’s network of Electronic Crime Task Forces is to be expanded through the addition of task force officers, prosecutors, and judges who’ve been educated and trained through the Institute. Stakeholders from the academic institutions and the private sector would also be included in this network.