PILLAR III – THREAT REDUCTION DHS law enforcement agencies investigate and reduce threats from cyber criminals. In partnership with other law enforcement agencies, DHS must prevent cyber crime and disrupt criminals and criminal organizations who use cyberspace to carry out their illicit activities and leverage identified threat activity and trends to inform national risk management efforts. Goal 4: Prevent and Disrupt Criminal Use of Cyberspace We will reduce cyber threats by countering transnational criminal organizations and sophisticated cyber criminals. Law enforcement performs a critical role in cybersecurity risk management by focusing on the threat, and preventing the use of cyberspace for illicit purposes. While breaches of sensitive personal information generate significant media attention, financial fraud, money laundering, theft of intellectual property and sensitive technologies, selling of illicit goods, and child exploitation are also increasingly being conducted online. In response, nearly all criminal investigations now require law enforcement investigators to have knowledge of computer forensics, digital investigations, and the cyber tradecraft that is necessary to counter transnational criminal threats. Improved criminal intelligence is also a key component of cyber investigations and combatting transnational criminal organizations. DHS must continue to strengthen our efforts as part of the law enforcement community to pursue, counter, reduce, and disrupt illicit cyber activity by leveraging, in particular, our specialized expertise and capabilities to target financial and trans-border cyber crimes. 9 The transnational and cross-jurisdictional nature of cyberspace, as well as the sheer size of the challenge, requires closer collaboration with other federal, state, local, and international law enforcement partners. Objective 4.1: Combat financial and trans-border cyber crimes and disrupt and defeat associated criminal organizations. While our law enforcement jurisdiction is broad, DHS must continue to focus on our core investigative responsibilities regarding financial services and payment systems, computer fraud and abuse, cross-border transmission of illicit materials, human trafficking and child exploitation, intellectual property violations, misuse of cryptocurrencies, and other violations of customs law through the Internet or online marketplaces. DHS must prioritize investigative efforts to focus on identifying, disrupting, and dismantling transnational criminal organizations 9 While multiple DHS Components have law enforcement responsibilities, those with the most direct responsibility related to countering illicit cyber activity include the United States Secret Service (USSS) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (ICE/HSI). 15