May 19, 2022

By: Christopher A. Iacono

Takeaway: The new Better Cybercrime Metrics Act will help the federal government track, measure, analyze, and prosecute cybercrime.

On May 6, 2022, President Biden signed into law the Better Cybercrime Metrics Act.[1] This Act encourages local law enforcement to report incidents of cybercrime to the FBI to build a database of cybercrimes, as the FBI does with many other types of crime.[2]  The new database will categorize different types of cybercrime. This Act also authorizes the National Academies of Science to establish a taxonomy for cybercrime incidents in consultation with federal, state, local, and tribal stakeholders, criminologists, and business leaders that would inform the FBI’s reporting of cybercrime and cyber-enabled crime.[3]

The Better Cybercrime Metrics Act also requires the Bureau of Justice Statistics at the Department of Justice and the Census Bureau to add questions regarding cybercrime to the annual National Crime Victimization Survey.[4] The data collected will be available to law enforcement agencies seeking to track down cybercriminals.

James Turgal, former executive assistant director for the FBI’s Information and Technology Branch and current vice president of Cyber Risk, Strategy, and Board Relations for Optiv Security observed:

“This new legislation, coupled with the previously passed Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act of 2022, will, in theory, allow for the mandatory reporting of cyberattacks by victims in the critical infrastructure industries within specified timeframes.”[5]

The database created by this mandatory reporting will assist law enforcement agencies in tracking potential cybercrime threats and recovering lost assets.

[1] S. 2629: Better Cybercrime Metrics Act
[2] Id.
[3] Sarah Coble, House Passes Better Cybercrime Metrics Act, Infosecurity Magazine,
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/house-passes-better-cybercrime/
[4] Id.
[5] Edward Segal, Biden Signs Bill To Create Cybercrime Reporting System, Forbes, May 5, 2022, 12:09 pm EDT,
https://www.forbes.com/sites/edwardsegal/2022/05/05/biden-signs-bill-to-create-cybercrime-reporting-system/?sh=36a7c8161f91