Texas Attorney General Honored For Fighting Cybercrime
McAfee Inc. recently presented the inaugural McAfee Cybercrime Fighter Award to Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott. The award, recognizing Abbott for his fight to protect Texas children from online predators, was presented during the McAfee Strategic Executive Security Summit in Dallas.
Serving since 2002, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has established a national reputation as a leader in protecting children online. In 2003, General Abbott created the state's first Cyber Crimes Unit, an effort responsible for more than 90 child predator arrests and a 100 percent conviction rate.
He has repeatedly pressed social networking sites to implement definitive safety measures to protect young users from sexually explicit images and unwanted sexual advances. Abbott has led online safety educational efforts statewide, with Cyber Crimes Unit investigators and a full-time Cyber Safety Officer conducting Cyber Safety Town Halls for parents and educators across Texas. The Texas Attorney General's office also routinely works to train law enforcement across the state on conducting investigations and forensics on online solicitation and child pornography cases.
In May 2006, the U.S. Department of Justice awarded the Cyber Crimes Unit a grant to establish an Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, one of nearly 50 similar groups across the country.