WASHINGTON—The U.S. Attorney General’s office has introduced its new Cyber Security Task Force.
“Its marching orders are a bit vague – ‘canvass the many ways that the Department is combatting the global cyber threat’ – but the AG's first task is for it to investigate efforts to interfere with U.S. elections and infrastructure,” reported engadget in its analysis.
Members of the task force will come from various Justice Department entities and could extend to include reps from other federal agencies. Other tasks on its to-do list cover incidents like mass thefts of personal information, violent ideologies spreading and recruiting over the Internet or using tech to stymie law enforcement and massive computer attacks, engadget reported.
While sources have stated that it’s hard to determine what the task force may accomplish or target as issues, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has said “The Internet has given us amazing new tools that help us work, communicate, and participate in our economy, but these tools can also be exploited by criminals, terrorists, and enemy governments...At the Department of Justice, we take these threats seriously. That is why today I am ordering the creation of a Cyber-Digital Task Force to advise me on the most effective ways that this department can confront these threats and keep the American people safe."