Each United States Attorney’s Office (USAO) shall designate one or more AUSAs as the district’s National Security Cyber Specialist (NSCS). The NSCS AUSAs shall serve as the primary point of contact for all of the district’s law enforcement activities regarding cyber and cyber-enabled crime that are defined in Section 9-50.201, that falls within the scope of this chapter. The National Security Cyber Section (NatSec Cyber), in partnership with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), has primary responsibility for developing the Department’s overall strategies for investigating, disrupting, and deterring cyber threats within the scope of this chapter and shall exercise the Assistant Attorney General’s supervisory authority over all such investigations, cases, and other disruptions. NatSec Cyber, working in close partnership with the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS), shall provide programmatic support to the NSCS AUSAs through the National Security Cyber Specialist Network (NSCS Network). In addition to developing and prosecuting their own cyber and cyber-enabled crime cases within the scope of this chapter and assisting NSCS and Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property (CHIP) AUSAs in such cases, as described in Sections 9-50.105 and 9-90.020, NatSec Cyber supports the NSCS Network by serving as a source and conduit for disseminated cyber-related intelligence reporting and developing and implementing training programs for such AUSAs in cooperation with CCIPS and the Office of Legal Education (OLE), as described in Section 9-50.600. At the discretion of U.S. Attorneys, NSCS AUSAs may also serve as CHIP AUSAs, or assist them in addressing these threats.

In the context of cyber and cyber-enabled crime investigations within the scope of this chapter, the NSCS AUSAs are responsible for, among other things, ensuring their offices awareness of and in-house training with respect to:

1. • timely issuance of legal process for cyber victim identification, as described in Section 9-50.700;
2. • all available U.S. and foreign government authorities and “tools” to disrupt cyber threats, as well as the applicable consultation requirements, as described in Section 9-50.204;
3. • notification, deconfliction, and reporting requirements for applicable cyber and cyber-enabled crime investigations, as described in Section 9-51.101;
4. • consultation requirements with respect to decisions to charge a case under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1030, as required by Section 9-48.000; and
5. • Departmental policies related to foreign affairs, intelligence, and national security relevant to prosecutions and investigations, including classified discovery issues, Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 6(e)(3)(D) information-sharing provisions, and issues related to operational security, such as the availability of non-disclosure orders for “exceptional circumstances” under the relevant Department policies and a district court’s “highly sensitive document” policies.

NSCS AUSAs shall also support CHIP AUSAs in executing the latter’s responsibilities as described in JM 9-50.104 and 9-50.105.

NatSec Cyber shall serve as a resource of expertise for NSCS, CHIP, and other AUSAs when pursuing the “all tools” disruption approach to cyber and cyber-enabled crimes, as described in Section 9-50.204. USAOs should utilize NatSec Cyber's demonstrated experience with such authorities and tools in the context of national security-related investigations, and their extensive network of relevant contacts. For any instance in which the USAO or other Department component (other than the FBI or NSD) seeks to initiate contact with an agency of the intelligence community or the Department of Defense, regarding issues arising during a cyber or cyber-enabled crime investigation or prosecution, it is the duty of the NSCS AUSA or other employee to consult with the Chief of NatSec Cyber or a designee prior to undertaking such contact. Such a consultation shall also occur for any instance in which the USAO or other Department component (other than the FBI or NSD) seeks to initiate contact with other inter-agency partners or foreign government regarding issues arising during cyber or cyber-enabled crime investigations or prosecutions within the scope of this chapter.

All NSCS AUSAs shall maintain a top secret/sensitive compartment information (TS/SCI) clearance in order to review, discuss, and use classified information in connection with cyber and cyber-enabled crime investigations that affect, involve, or relate to the national security.

[added August 2023]