This article was published on August 16, 2012

Manhattan gets new $4.2M cyber crime lab because “the Internet is the crime scene of the 21st century”


Manhattan gets new $4.2M cyber crime lab because “the Internet is the crime scene of the 21st century”

Although it feels strange that Internet-based crimes are still called cyber crimes, the world’s growing reliance on connected devices for just about everything — from music and payments to maintaining relationships — means that digital security must be taken seriously. This is why Manhattan is getting a brand new $4.2M+ Cyber Crime Lab, the news of which was recently announced by district attorney Cyrus Vance, reports AM NY.

According to the report, the new lab will open next year, and will be used “to keep up with thugs’ using high-tech gadgets during, or for crimes.” Clearly, criminals often leave digital footprints, and tracking these details down will help solve both online and offline crimes. It’s also probably no coincidence that Vance was recently a victim of identity theft only a week prior to this announcement.

Vance estimates that there has been a “50% increase in Manhattan cyber crimes” over the last five years. With this in mind, Vance declared that “the Internet is the crime scene of the 21st century.” It’s an obvious statement, but it somehow feels hyperbolic. Maybe this is just a “duh” moment for us, the people who work and practically live on their computers.

No matter what, it’s certainly good that NY’s law enforcement teams are becoming increasingly digitally literate, especially when it comes to developing new technology to aid in crime solving. This is an area that was only going to become more and more underserved over time, and since my identity has probably already been stolen numerous times, I’m not going to fight against this sort of thing.

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