Digital forensics class set to train law enforcement at UAH

University of Alabama in Huntsville

Law enforcement officers from nine city, state and federal entities are set to attend a digital forensics tools and techniques class at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) Sept. 29 through Oct. 3.

Arranged by UAH's Office of the Vice President for Research, the class will be hosted at UAH's Systems Management and Production (SMAP) Center on Sparkman Drive and will be conducted by the Mississippi State University (MSU) National Forensic Training Center.

We do hope to continue to work with MSU in many cybersecurity activities, since UAH and MSU have an excellent relationship. We also hope to further develop the capability of UAH to offer such services in the future.

"While at MSU I worked with my colleague, Dr. David Dampier, to found the National Forensics Training Center which had as its mission offering no cost digital forensics technical training to state and local law enforcement agencies," said Dr. Ray Vaughn, UAH vice president for research. That program was funded for many years by the U.S. Dept. of Justice.

"After discovering a need for such training in the Huntsville community while attending and speaking at the annual Huntsville Cyber Summit, I phoned my friends at MSU and asked them if they would consider running a class here at UAH for our law enforcement community," Dr. Vaughn said. "I put them in touch with two Huntsville police officers that I met at Cyber Summit." SMAP Director Gary Maddux offered the use of SMAP's facilities to support the class at no charge.

Personnel from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service and the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command will join officers from the Huntsville Police Dept., Madison County Sheriff's Office, Arab Police Dept. and Tuscumbia Police Dept. in the five days of classwork, which Dr. Vaughn thinks may open opportunities for more such events at UAH.

"We do hope to continue to work with MSU in many cybersecurity activities, since UAH and MSU have an excellent relationship," Dr. Vaughn said. "We also hope to further develop the capability of UAH to offer such services in the future."