Many internet crimes are classified as federal offenses, rather than state-level offenses. These are often white-collar crimes that could include fraud, access to prohibited information or financial schemes.
One reason for federal jurisdiction is that there is an inherent interstate basis to a lot of online activity. Someone who is accused of using the internet to perpetrate a financial scam, for example, may have alleged victims all across the United States. Even if that person was only physically in a single state while carrying out the scam, because there are victims across state lines, the federal government can then level charges.
This is also true for many physical types of crime. Drug possession may be a state-level offense, for example, but drug trafficking over state lines can become a federal offense. With the internet, though, because of the digital reach of the internet itself, it is not always necessary for the individual accused of the crime to leave their home state. The criminal activity is still, in a sense, crossing state lines.
Internet connectivity itself
In some cases, federal jurisdiction is simply determined by whether or not the computer in question was connected to the internet.
For instance, someone may have been accused of hacking into a specific server to which they were not provided access. The person and the server may be in the same state, but if that computer was connected to the internet, there is a potential impact on other interconnected computer systems. Even something as simple as accessing a website that is being hosted in another state could help to determine federal jurisdiction.
For those facing both federal and state charges, it is important to understand exactly what legal defense options exist. An experienced white-collar crime attorney can help.