Orange County Launches Cybercrime Initiative

Authorities in California’s Orange County have launched a new initiative to help the public identify and report cyber-threats.

SafeOC is a localized version of the national ‘If You See Something, Say Something’ anti-terrorism public awareness campaign that emphasizes the importance of reporting suspicious items and behaviors to law enforcement.

A website and a social media account have been created to support the campaign. The website provides examples of suspicious cyber-activity and online threats, including configuration changes to files, sharing of account access and changes in user permissions.

Through the website, users can report suspicious activity directly to the Orange County Intelligence Assessment Center (OCIAC)

“Cyber is by far the up-and-coming crime and risk domestically,” said Orange County sheriff Don Barnes. 

He added: “Crimes happening online are much more prevalent than they were just a decade ago and criminals are finding new ways to create new victims and ways to victimize people.” 

Cyber-investigator with the OCIAC, Lance Larson, said solving cybercrime cases is challenging as bad actors often operate from overseas, and encryption makes it difficult to “follow the money.” He added that early detection was crucial in the fight against cybercrime.

“It gives us that ability to go on and be able to start the disruption process of stopping the cyber-attack, potentially being able to freeze money as it’s moving through the financial system potentially trying to go overseas,” said Larson.

The SafeOC website also provides information about the orange county launches cybercrime initiative