Atlanta Attorney’s Office Gets Cybercrime Unit

The Atlanta US Attorney’s Office has announced the creation of a cybercrime unit within its criminal division following extradition to the US of two Nigerians from Kuala Lumpur in a phishing scam case. A Department of Justice (DoJ) release from the Northern District of Georgia said the role of this unit is to fight growing cybercrime in the country and protect national interests.

This unit, which will operate within the office’s Financial Fraud & Cyber Crime Section, will have five federal prosecutors to assist national agencies in investigating computer hacking and intrusions, distributed denial of service and malware attacks, identity theft, and other cybercrimes worldwide.

According to U.S. Attorney John Horn, the unit will “aggressively identify and investigate the newest directions in cybercrime whether committed by individuals, syndicates, or even state actors here or abroad.”

The arrested Nigerians and their co-conspirators allegedly launched phishing attacks from Kuala Lumpur on more than 25 US educational institutions and stole over $1 million.

Read the DoJ release here.