Canada's National Police Launches Cyber Crime Unit

Five years after the Canadian government launched an official national cybersecurity strategy to combat the rise of online attacks, the country’s national police force announced Wednesday it is creating an investigative team.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) released its cyber crime strategy to reduce the threat and impact of digital criminal attacks in Canada, according to a news release.

The measure follows concerns that the country lags the United States and Europe in efforts to safeguard government, businesses and critical infrastructure from the increase in cyber attacks against Canadian interests.

The RCMP strategy is focused on the threats emanating from nation-states and terrorist groups. Attention centers on three pillars that will guide the RCMP's efforts in combating cyber crime:

• Identify and prioritize cyber crime threats through intelligence collection and analysis.
• Pursue cyber crime through targeted enforcement and investigative action.
• Support cyber crime investigations with specialized skills, tools and training.

The strategy, expected to be fully implemented by 2020, will focus on a 15-point action plan; examples include creating an investigative team to identify and concentrate on high-priority criminal behavior, establishing a dedicated intelligence unit and improving digital forensic evidence capabilities for cyber crime investigations, according to the document.