Cyber Protection Program

Keeping Children Safe through Smart Prevention and Intervention Efforts: Cyber Protection Program and Cyber Enforcement Unit

In 2007, District Attorney Gerry Leone created the Cyber Protection program, which is the office’s first-ever unit of prosecutors and investigators specifically focused on the protection of children and other citizens from the predatory dangers of the Internet and use of cell phones and other communication devices.

The Middlesex District Attorney's Cyber Protection Program is a team consisting of a coordinating Assistant District Attorney, State Police, and civilian forensic specialists. The team focuses on the investigation and prosecution of cases involving the use of computers to commit crimes and store evidence, including those who target children, the elderly and other vulnerable victims. It also addresses financial and other related cyber crimes. In addition to its prosecutorial components, the program works to engage community and law enforcement partners to conduct county-wide trainings, build and develop public-private partnerships, launch pilot initiatives, and support the office's pre-existing school and community-based prevention and intervention programs.

Within the Cyber Protection program, DA Leone created the Cyber Enforcement Unit. The Unit consists of designated assistant district attorneys, Massachusetts State Police Detectives assigned to the office, and civilian forensic specialists.  Their mission is to investigate and prosecute cases involving the use of computers to commit crimes, including those who target children. 

Statistics: kids and the internet

• According to a recent survey by Emerson Hospital of 8,000 middle and high school students in school districts north and west of Boston, including numerous Middlesex County schools, more than 24% of high school students reported having given information about themselves over the Internet to someone with whom they had never met (19.5% of eighth graders had done so).
• According to the same survey, 14.8% of high school students reported having met someone in person with whom they had initially contacted online (13.6% of eighth graders and 12.8% of sixth graders reported doing so).
• According to a national survey conducted by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, approximately one in seven youth reported having received unwanted sexual solicitations online. Four percent of all youth Internet users also reported receiving online solicitations for nude or sexually explicit photographs of themselves.

Tips to keep you and your family's use of the Internet and cell phones safe:

Set the Rules
• Set guidelines for your children on Internet and cell phone use.
• Work with your child to decide what is and is not appropriate.
• Establish Internet privacy rules for the family. Remember that many services provide free e-mail, so your family's e-mail address may not be your child's only address.
• Tell your children never to respond to threatening or obscene messages, and never to click on links in an e-mail or download attachments from someone they don't know.

Safety Tips
• If you believe your child needs a cell phone, consider limiting camera or video send/receive capabilities.
• Make Internet use a family activity. Consider keeping the computer/laptop in the family room or other open area rather than in your child's bedroom.
• Let your children know that they can talk to you about anything they encounter online that makes them feel uncomfortable. Remember, how you respond will determine whether they confide in you next time.
• Monitor your children's online activity and cell phone use just as you would the programs they watch on television, the books they read, or the movies they see.
• Tell your children not to provide personal information or respond when someone offers them something for nothing, such as free software or gifts.
• Remind your children that the people they chat with are still strangers; because you can't see or hear people online, it's easy for an adult to pretend that he or she is a kid. Internet friends are still strangers!
• Check out web sites for information about parental monitoring software.

Check out our office's brochure Technology Tips for Parents for more information.

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