Contact: Phil Hearn
Mississippi State's department of computer science and engineering is hosting a free computer crime and forensics workshop for local law enforcement officers Wednesday, Thursday and Friday [Aug. 4-6]. Officers of the university's police department will be joined by colleagues at the Starkville Police and Oktibbeha County Sheriff's departments.
The sessions take place in 207 Butler Hall, home of the MSU department, with some exercises in the new forensics lab in Rooms 204 and 205.
Computer crime and computer forensics are rapidly growing areas of study. Given the increased ease with which unscrupulous persons can access the Internet and commit crimes with and against computers, and an increased emphasis on homeland defense in this country, there is a growing need for individuals with the skills to investigate such crimes.
The MSU course will introduce both computer crime and computer forensics. Attendees will learn different aspects of computer crime and ways in which to uncover, protect and exploit digital evidence. Officers also will be exposed to a variety of tools, both software and hardware, and learn how to use them to perform rudimentary investigations.
Wednesday's events begin with introductions to computer forensics and cyber crime at 9 a.m. and 10 a.m., respectively. Afternoon sessions at 1:30-2:30 p.m. will be devoted to mobile forensics tools; 2:30-6:30 p.m., with laboratory familiarity.
Thursday's program features an 8:30-9:50 a.m. introduction to personal computer file systems and imaging, a 10 a.m.-noon imaging lab exercise, and a 1:30-2:50 p.m. session on DOS-based investigative software.
Friday's sessions include Windows-based investigative software from 8:30-9:20 a.m., a lab exercise from 9:30-10:50 a.m., encryption/decryption from 11 a.m.-noon, data hiding/steganography from 1:30-2:20 p.m. and a final exercise from 2:30-4:30 p.m.
For more information, contact Dave Dampier at (662) 325-8923 or Dave Dampier.