Abbreviation BIT | Formed 2002 | |
Legal personality Governmental: Government agency Population 40,525,002 (July 2009 est.) General nature Law enforcementCivilian police | ||
The Technological Investigation Brigade (BIT) is a unit of the Cuerpo Nacional de Policía, the national civilian police force of Spain. BIT has the task of combating new and emerging forms of crime such as child pornography, Internet fraud, communications fraud, cyber attacks, and copyright infringement.
Contents
Mission
History
The idea for the BIT began in 1995 with the creation of the Group of Information Crimes within the Brigade of Economic and Financial Crimes. The group eventually split into separate sections of expertise that resemble its current organization. In 2002, the group gained its current name of the Technological Investigation Brigade (BIT). The BIT exists within the Unit of Economic and Fiscal Crime.
Structure
The BIT has three sections with diverse missions. The first section, comprising two groups, protects minors particularly from child pornography. These groups rescue endangered children and prosecute their abusers. The second section also contains two groups. One of these groups investigates internet offenses such as fraudulent credit cards usage, and more complex techniques such as phishing and network attacks. The second group in the internet security section focuses exclusively on crimes involving industrial espionage and intellectual property. The third section, dubbed the Technical Section deals with forensic analysis.