Computer fraud unit to be created

Date: October 20, 2004
Source: PittsburghLIVE
By: Chris Osher, TRIBUNE-REVIEW

The U.S. Attorney's office in Pittsburgh is one of five jurisdictions in the nation that will get new computer fraud units.

The Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property unit, also known as CHIP, will require prosecutors to focus on copyright and trademark violations, theft of trade secrets, computer intrusions, theft of computers and high-tech components and Internet fraud.

The Justice Department's Intellectual Property Task Force recommended units be created in Pittsburgh and in the U.S. Attorney's Offices in Washington, D.C.; Sacramento, Calif.; Nashville, Tenn.; and Orlando, Fla.

Ashcroft launched 10 CHIP units in 2001, based on a program run in the U.S. Attorney's office in San Jose, Calif. In 2002, he added three additional units.

Intellectual property industries employ more than 5 million people and contribute $626 billion to the U.S. economy.

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