This study addresses the following question:

What are the technological impediments facing law enforcement when investigating and responding to cyber attacks, for which research and development might provide solutions?

Cyber attacks on corporate, governmental, academic, and critical infrastructure networks are increasing in number, sophistication, and severity. The tools that law enforcement use to respond to these attacks are not keeping pace with the technologies employed by attackers. The Law Enforcement Tools and Technologies for Investigating Cyber Attacks: A National Needs Assessment (LENA) conducted by the Institute for Security Technology Studies is the result of a comprehensive examination of the technological impediments law enforcement encounters during cyber attack investigations.

The 2002 Law Enforcement Needs Assessment [PDF]

The follow-on research to this study is being conducted through the 2003 Gap Analysis Project.