Cyber Experts And Engineers Wanted By Fbi
The Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks have forced the Federal Bureau of Investigations to get more serious about its computer skills by increasing its IT hiring efforts and waiving some requirements to lure more IT professionals.
The FBI created the Cyber Division two years ago as agency officials faced the pressing issues of monitoring potential terrorists and neutralizing the viruses and worms that plague cyberspace. Cybercrime now trails only counterterrorism and counterintelligence in priority for the FBI, which used the Cyber Division to bring all of its computer experts under one command.
The FBI is actively recruiting people with backgrounds in computer science and electrical engineering to fill its new jobs, and the downturn in the IT industry has prompted some IT workers to leave the private sector for government service.
The FBI is now a presence at high-tech job fairs and leading tech schools such as MIT and the University of Illinois, says Keith Lourdeau, the Cyber Division’s deputy assistant director.
Several agents at each of the FBI’s 56 field divisions work on cybercrime, but the larger offices in New York and Los Angeles have dozens of cyber agents. Moreover, local police officers and representatives from other federal agencies participate in its 40 cybercrime task forces.
The extensive training of agents who work in the cyber unit ranges from Cyber 101 to intense sessions provided by leading IT companies. The FBI also now mandates 20 hours of computer training, such as reading email headers and return addresses, to all agent trainees.
Abstracted by the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center(NLECTC) from the Wall Street Journal (04/06/04) P. B1; Fields, Gary .
