PALIKIR, Pohnpei—His Excellency David W. Panuelo, President of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), through an Executive Order, has created the FSM Cyber Security and Intelligence Bureau (CSIB), a new, Special Division within the Department of Justice.
The CSIB operates under the authority of the Secretary of Justice, and is given the objectives of establishing a practical and operational link to relevant national agencies dealing with cyber security, threats, and management. The Bureau will serve as the cyber-criminal law enforcement and intelligence network that analyzes trends of criminal activities in the nation and the region; it is mandated to implement modalities of collaboration and sharing of information among cyber security agencies; and to provide high-level policy recommendation to the Secretary of Justice on strengthening cyber security and criminal law enforcement, joint exercises and cross training, sharing of intelligence information, and recovery of illegal assets.
The Bureau is mandated to provide technical guidance and expertise, collaborate with partners and networks of assets, to provide security to critical assets and infrastructure of the National Government, and to implement and execute operational mandates within cyber-space in combatting cybercrime. The Bureau shall assist Law Enforcement Officers and Investigators in executing cyber forensics and in other technical capacities.
The Honorable Joses R. Gallen, Secretary of the Department of Justice, has designated Mr. Adam Caldwell to serve as Assistant Secretary of the CSIB. Additional recruitment opportunities for the new division are contingent upon funding from the 22nd FSM Congress, which is presently reviewing the Fiscal Year 2022 budget over the course of their ongoing 2nd Regular Session.
“Mr. Caldwell was formerly employed at the Department of Foreign Affairs when he identified, and neutralized, specific cyber activity that was harmful to the FSM and its provision of essential services to the People,” Secretary Gallen said in a statement. “That’s why President Panuelo and I urged him to move to the Department of Justice, where we have asked him to help spearhead the Nation’s advancement into the digital sphere.”
“As of 2021, the internet and information technology remain uncharted territory to many Micronesians,” Assistant Secretary Caldwell said in a statement. “The practical effect is that— whether it’s citizens becoming victims of cybercrimes, such as through ransomware attacks and social engineering scams through fake social media and email accounts, Government websites falling to DDOS attacks, or persons engaging in cybercrimes such as the creation and transmission of child pornography—it is entirely in the Nation’s interest that there be people and mechanisms in place to protect our citizens from cybercrimes and cyberattacks. My objective is to build CSIB into a functional bureau that protects Micronesians in the cyber-domain.”
Assistant Secretary Caldwell is an alumnus of the Young Pacific Leaders in Cybersecurity Program sponsored by the Government of the United States of America and the Harris Cyber Policy Initiative at the University of Chicago.
The FSM National Government extends its appreciation to both the Governments of the United States of America and Australia for their historical, ongoing, and future support in building the Nation’s capacity in tackling cybercrimes and enhancing cybersecurity.
The creation of CSIB, the Department of Justice’s newest division, comes approximately two years after the creation of the Division of Anti-Human Trafficking.
President Panuelo’s Executive Order establishing CSIB can be found here:https://gov.fm/files/Presidential%20Orders/September_13_2021-Executive_Order_Cyber_Security_and_Intelligence_Bureau_Division.pdf
