"Thank you for visiting the website for the Computer Crime Section in the Virginia Attorney General’s Office. We live in a time of rapidly advancing technologies, which have benefitted our schools, our economy, and our everyday lives. While technology has made our businesses more efficient and connected us personally to a broader world, it comes with potential harms as well. Our office continues to protect citizens from the varied and ever-increasing dangers online, and this Web page provides valuable information and tools you can use to protect yourself." 
Attorney General Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II

The Internet has become an essential tool in education, business, and our daily lives. As our lives become more reliant on technology to maintain business and personal relationships, we become more vulnerable to cybercriminals seeking to exploit the Internet through fraud, identity theft, and child exploitation. The Computer Crime Section was formed in 1999 to address the dangers associated with the expansion of the Internet and society's dependence upon it.

The section's main responsibility is to counter these threats by investigating and prosecuting cybercriminals for offenses under the Virginia Computer Crimes Act, the Virginia identity theft statutes, and the Virginia child exploitation statutes. In addition, the section engages Virginia’s citizens through its comprehensive educational programs concerning Internet safety and cyber security. Its members present these programs throughout the Commonwealth to students, teachers, school resource officers, parents, and companies. Through its law-enforcement and preventative efforts, the Computer Crime Section is dedicated to combating computer crime and to ensuring the safety of Virginia’s citizens.

For more information on preventing cyber crime, see our overview.