April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month. During this time the Nebraska Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force is drawing attention to the need to keep our children safe online.

In 1998, the United States Department of Justice began an Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force to help deal with the growing problem of Internet-related exploitation of children. The ICAC Task Force laid the foundation for what would become a nationwide partnership of law enforcement agencies with the mission of protecting children online. Currently there are 61 ICAC Task Forces located across the United States representing over 2,000 federal, state, and local law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies. Since its inception, the ICAC Task Force program has investigated over 280,000 complaints of alleged child sexual exploitation and arrested almost 30,000 individuals.

“The Nebraska ICAC Task Force is a collaborative effort under the direction of the Patrol,” said Colonel David Sankey, Superintendent of the Nebraska State Patrol. “Through their involvement in this task force, officers and prosecutors across the state work to combat the growing problem of the online abuse of our children.”

The Nebraska ICAC Task Force is comprised of 54 federal, state and local enforcement agencies and prosecutorial offices. In 2012, the Nebraska ICAC task force initiated 343 investigations, resulting in 60 arrests across the state. That compares with 565 investigations in 2011 resulting in 86 arrests.

In addition to conducting investigations the Nebraska ICAC Task Force provides training for law enforcement and performs educational presentations on internet safety.

Authorities have closed a portion of Interstate 80 in western Nebraska because of hazardous driving conditions caused by a spring storm.

The state Department of Roads says Wednesday that the westbound lanes of the interstate are closed between Big Springs in western Nebraska and the Wyoming state line. The Wyoming Department of Transportation requested the closure due to hazardous driving conditions in Wyoming.

The National Weather Service says the storm may drop several inches of snow in western and north central Nebraska between Wednesday and Thursday morning. Several winter weather advisories are in effect through Thursday as the storm moves east.

Strong wind gusts of up to 20-30 mph will cause blowing and drifting snow.

Authorities are advising drivers to reduce speed because of the snow.

A national conference being held in Omaha this week is designed to help counties learn better ways to protect their computer networks from hackers.

The National Association of Counties event began Wednesday at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and it will continue through Friday.

The sessions will focus on strategies counties can take to protect the sensitive data they hold about court records, taxes and employees.

Douglas County Commissioner Chris Rodgers says it’s critical for counties to have up-to-date cyber security plans. Rodgers is president of the national counties group.

The conference is also sponsored by AT&T and the Peter Kiewit Institute.