Center for Computer Security Research helps make Mississippi Safer
March 3, 2007
Mississippi State University along with the U.S. Department of Justice is helping to make the state of Mississippi safer from cyber criminals. In mid-February, the Center for Computer Security Research (CCSR) at Mississippi State issued four computer forensic lab kits to help Mississippi law enforcement crack down on cyber crime. With the help of the new equipment, each department will be able to set up a computer forensics lab to assist in investigating computer crime. The equipment was funded by a grant from the Department of Justice.
The departments receiving the new equipment included: Information Technology Services at MSU, Lee County Sheriff’s Department, Cleveland Police Department, and Warren County Sheriff’s Department. Another set of equipment has been designated for the Biloxi Police Department but has not currently been issued.
“These departments were chosen through the consideration of trained personnel assigned to that department as well as their geographical location within the state,” said Dr. Dave Dampier, associate professor of computer science and engineering at MSU and director of the Southeast Region Forensics Training Center. “As more money is granted, more of this kind of equipment will be given out across the state.”
Cyber crime is on the rise in the U.S.; from 2004 to 2005, there was a 62.1 percent increase in Internet crime in Mississippi alone, according to the annual report of the Internet Crime Complaint Center. The term cyber crime is defined as any crime committed using a computer, or on a computer. Some examples include identification theft, embezzlement, child pornography, hate crimes, telemarketing/Internet fraud, and hacking.
The Southeast Region Forensics Training Center (FTC) is a subordinate activity of the CCSR. The center was opened in 2005 with the help of a $1 million grant from the Department of Justice. The center trains law enforcement officers from across the southeast on how to combat computer-based crimes through specific courses using computer forensics software. In the past 18 months, over 500 law enforcement officers have completed the FTC training courses. The FTC works in partnership with the University of Mississippi’s National Center for Justice and Rule of Law to address legal aspects of cyber crime. The FTC also works closely with the cooperation of the Cyber Crime Center of the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office.
“The CCSR and the FTC are working hard to improve our State’s ability to quickly address cyber crime and to successfully prosecute those who engage in it. These labs are only a start. We have plans to continue pushing needed equipment to the front lines of law enforcement and to move into providing assistance to other owner operators of the critical infrastructures in our State,” said Dr. Rayford B. Vaughn, professor of computer science and engineering at MSU and director of the Center for Computer Security Research.
In addition to training law enforcement, computer science students at MSU are also receiving training with forensics equipment through the CCSR. The CCSR also participates in two National Cyber Corps scholarship programs. To date, over 50 students have received funding through government scholarships to study cyber security. After they graduate, these students will work for the federal government as security engineers.
Since 2005, the CCSR and FTC have received over $5 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Justice, the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. These grants have supported the development and implementation of FTC training and research within the CCSR.