The CSI/FBI have a famous report released annually called the “Computer Crime and Security Survey”. I was surprised to read today that the FBI also has a lesser-known report called the “Computer Crime Survey”.

The difference is supposedly in the method of gathering data, although it’s not clear that either survey is truly scientific. The larger survey is done with a select group of respondants and has a huge number of paper-based questions (I’ve filled it out at least twice), whereas this “Computer Crime only, hold the Security” survey “was taken by 2,066 organizations in Iowa, Nebraska, New York, and Texas”.

The findings are not particularly surprising, and I actually could spend some time trying to debunk the article’s title “FBI says attacks succeeding despite security investments”, but instead I just want to bring attention to the part of the report I found insightful:

While some individual law enforcement officers are not trained to respond to computer security incidents, local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies have become increasingly equipped to both investigate and assist in the prosecution of such violations. Computer related crime is the third-highest priority in the FBI, above public corruption, civil rights, organized crime, white collar crime, major theft and violent crime.

Not hard to find out what the top two priories are:
1. Protect the United States from terrorist attack.
2. Protect the United States against foreign intelligence operations and espionage.

So there you have it. If you are in the US and believe you are a victim of “cyber-based attacks and high-technology crimes”, contact the FBI.