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Floor Speech

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Mr. TUBERVILLE. Madam President, over the last few decades, large parts of our daily lives--like work, education, and even personal finance--moved online. The emergence of computers, the internet, and mobile devices have created a more interconnected world more than ever. But this being connected can also be used by bad actors.

The entire world of information is at our fingertips, but also, so is cyber crime. Because of this, those charged with keeping us safe have the increasingly difficult task of not only protecting us from the rising physical crime scene in our communities across the country but also from cyber crime that is impossible to see and much harder to detect.

Law enforcement officials in Alabama, my State, recognized the problem early on. In 2006--before we all had smart phones in our pockets--the Alabama Office of Prosecution Services and the Alabama District Attorneys Association saw the need for a more coordinated effort to train law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and judges in digital evidence.

They saw how the digital landscape was and still is constantly evolving and how those in law enforcement needed to keep up. But they also recognized how traditionally the largest departments with the biggest budgets were the only ones who could afford the training necessary to help their officers fight cyber and electronic crime.

So they outlined a plan to bring the training to more of our law enforcement officials and formed a unique and important partnership with the United States Secret Service to create a center for forensics education for State and law enforcement officials.

Thanks to their innovative thinking, the National Computer Forensics Institute--also known as NCFI--opened in 2008, under the roof provided by the city of Hoover, AL.

The Institute had somewhat modest beginnings--a $4 million budget and only 264 students. But thanks to continued support from Congress here on the Hill, the Computer Forensics Institute now taps into a $13 million annual budget to train more than 4,000 students from across the country every year.

To date, more than 19,000 State and local officers, prosecutors, and judges representing all 50 States have been trained at this institute right in the heart of Alabama. Local and State officials come from all over the country to train in Alabama and then take their newly acquired expertise back to their communities all over.

Graduates have reported utilizing their training in more than 578,000 digital forensic exams. It is clear this model is working. NCIF graduates are applying their skills to protect their communities all across the country.

The National Computer Forensics Institute focuses on teaching officials how to investigate cyber and electronic crime, always accounting--always accounting--for emerging technologies and difficult digital capabilities. But they also teach officials how to conduct forensic examinations of computers and mobile devices--a critical component of almost every violent crime investigation. Thus, the Institute gives officers and officials the tools they need to protect Americans from both cyber crime and violent crime every day.

The pandemic and our related shift to more virtual work and schooling sent cyber crime through the roof, and it continues to rise every day. In fact, according to McAfee, a computer security software company, the financial losses due to cyber crime ballooned to almost $1 trillion in 2020, and this number could hit $10.5 trillion by 2025 according to digital research group Cybersecurity Ventures.

But, as we know all too well, the risk isn't just financial; cyber criminals can hack pipelines and other key infrastructure systems that are crucial to our daily lives and that pertain to our national security.

Officials trained at the NCFI are a part of our frontline defense against these attacks. The frontline--our local police officers, district attorneys, and State officials--knows the people they serve best. I want those protecting my home and my State trained to identify and combat the latest threats, and I am sure you do as well.

In 2019, when cyber criminals threatened the people of Oldsmar, FL, by attempting to poison the city's water supply, graduates from the NCFI utilized their training to secure the city's infrastructure and compile valuable evidence to keep citizens safe.

In the fall of 2021, a week and a half before schools were to open in Louisiana, leaders were forced to declare a state of emergency due to ransomware attacks on dozens of parish school districts throughout the State. Thankfully, because of their time spent in Hoover, AL, Louisiana State Police investigators, trained and equipped at the National Computer Forensics Institute, responded to the attack. The investigators dismantled the malware and assisted in rebuilding 54 school networks. All schools within the State started on time, and no ransom was paid.

Earlier this year, after a madman terrorized shoppers at a grocery store in Buffalo, NY, NCFI-trained graduates were able to act quickly and support the police in their response. They used what they learned to conduct a forensic exam of a GoPro camera and a cell phone used by the shooter. That crucial video evidence is currently being used in the prosecution to ensure justice and to protect the victims and their families.

All Americans deserve to feel safe in their communities, and they deserve to feel safe online while working, learning, banking--whatever they need to do with electronic devices.

Brave men and women in law enforcement across the country are willing and able to protect Americans from all crime, including cyber crime, but they need the tools and resources to continue to do so effectively.

While some in Congress and the current administration have worked to shrink the size and strength of our law enforcement, I am unapologetic in my support for the men and women in blue. We must continue to provide the specialized resources that all of them need to do their jobs.

That is why I joined a group of colleagues from both sides of the aisle to introduce the National Computer Forensics Institute Reauthorization Act. This legislation, which passed the Senate by unanimous consent this week, would build on the work started in 2017 to strategically combat modern crime and set the National Computer Forensics Institute up for continued success. It also builds on that success by expanding the program's reach beyond just State and local officials to Federal law enforcement employees. As we know, those defending our national security at the national level should also have access to the latest digital and cyber crime training.

The National Computer Forensics Institute is an excellent example of a State's ingenuity and foresight--a group of individuals identifying a gap that needed to be filled and providing a service with national benefits. The success of the institute represents the impact State leaders and Congress can have on the entire country when we work together to support innovative and pragmatic solutions to our biggest problems. Alabama is proud of the National Computer Forensics Institute, and we are proud to provide cutting-edge training to many of America's brave law enforcement officials.

As Americans across the country face a rise in both violence and cyber crime, I applaud my colleagues for joining me to ensure our first responders have the necessary expertise and training by reauthorizing the National Computer Forensics Institute.

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