MANSFIELD – Successful businesses contribute to the benefit of communities and the individuals who live and work within the community.

But successful businesses are also targets for cybercriminals, according to a federal cybercrime prosecutor who spoke at Ohio State University in Mansfield in November.

“Successful businesses benefit the community and also put you at risk,” said Dan Riedl, chief of the National Security Unit (NSA) in the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio.

The unit pursues those who threaten our country, engage in international or domestic terrorism, or commit cybercrimes.

“What most cybercriminals are after is your money and what we do in law enforcement is try to confront and overcome cyber threats,” he continued.

Riedl specializes in cases involving ransomware, malware, terrorism and intellectual property theft.

He is lead counsel in several complex cyber cases, including the Trickbot malware case, which resulted in the conviction of two Trickbot programmers and sanctions in the US and UK against 11 Trickbot actors .

He was the second of three professionals to speak at the “Cybersecurity: Think Globally, Work Locally” series – sponsored by Ohio State Mansfield and the Richland Area Chamber & Economic Development.

Technological disruptions

A native of Mansfield, he spoke about the changes in society and technology from his childhood in Mansfield to today.

In particular, he recalled the importance of “technological breakthroughs” which have been part of American society since its beginnings.

Earlier disruptions included the invention of the railroad and telegraph, the automobile, the telephone, and the cell phone.

More recently, society has witnessed a rapid evolution of cyber tools, in the form of cryptocurrency, the dark web and new applications for everything from texting, messaging and dating, as well as the increased reliance on security and password encryption.

As technology evolves, law enforcement must continue to adapt and improve their methods of investigating criminals, according to Riedl.

“Before these tools appeared, criminals had very limited means of communication. Now they have access to every one of these apps and more,” he said.

International issues

One of the biggest challenges for federal prosecutors like Riedl is that cybercriminals often live in other countries, and often in countries that do not extradite those indicted to the United States.

“We can find out who they are and where they live, but as long as they live in a country that doesn’t want to extradite them, we are limited in how we can pursue them,” he said.

But that doesn’t mean foreign cybercriminals are safe. Riedl spoke of at least one occasion where a cybercriminal traveled to the United States for a plane stop and was quickly arrested.

Likewise, cybercriminals who travel outside of non-extraditing countries may find themselves sent to the United States for prosecution.

The federal government can also disrupt criminal IP addresses, according to Riedl, and restrict the financial activity of cybercriminals.

Riedl said businesses and the federal government have long taken a “defensive posture” toward cybercrime, which must transform into an “offensive posture.”

“The way we have approached cybercrime, particularly over the last 10 to 20 years, is a defensive posture, and in the United States in particular, we rely on American companies to defend against cyberattacks,” he said. he declared.

“We must not only build bigger and more effective walls, but also go on the offensive and try to disrupt these criminals. »

What’s next

Helen Patton, Cybersecurity Advisor at Cisco, will conclude the series on December 4 with the presentation “The Power of Public/Private Partnerships for Small Business Security.”

Jason Opal, dean and director of The Ohio State University at Mansfield, said the series is part of Ohio State’s land-grant mission to educate and inform the public .

“In addition to teaching students and creating knowledge, our job is to directly address the issues Ohioans face and provide them with real-world solutions and real support,” he said. declared.

“Right now, cyberattacks pose a clear and present risk to almost everyone, so we’re going to help people defend themselves, their businesses, and their homes.”