Attorney General Martha Coakley’s Office Hosts Three Day Cyber Crime Training for State Prosecutors and Investigators

FROM THE OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

August 12, 2008

Contact: Harry Pierre
(617) 727-2543


BOSTON – On Monday, prosecutors and investigators from every district attorney’s office across the Commonwealth participated in the first day of a three-day intensive cyber crime training entitled, “Investigations and Trial Advocacy in Cases Involving Digital Evidence.” Attorney General Martha Coakley provided opening remarks and highlighted the importance of properly training prosecutors and investigators in handling crimes with a digital component.

“In this digital age investigators are handling an increasing number of cases where digital evidence is a major component,” Attorney General Martha Coakley said. “We hope that this training will help equip investigators with the necessary tools and skills needed to investigate these types of cases but also provide an opportunity for them to return to their communities and share what they have learned.”

The Attorney General’s Office, in a partnership with the Massachusetts District Attorneys Association (MDAA), and with assistance from the Computer Forensic Advanced Technology Education program (CFATE), is hosting the training at Bunker Hill Community College for over 30 participants. The prosecutors and investigators attending the three-day training program are from all 11 district attorneys offices in the state. This “train the trainer” curriculum also provides participants the tools and knowledge they need to bring these training components back to their communities. The training sessions will cover a variety of topics including collecting online evidence, performing forensics techniques on evidence, and a discussion highlighting a variety of case scenarios. Instructors for these training sessions include assistant attorneys general from the Attorney General’s Office, as well as detectives from the Massachusetts State Police and a forensic examiner from the Boston FBI office.

As a part of the partnership between the Attorney General’s Office and CFATE, the Attorney General's Office will conduct educational training programs for CFATE faculty in digital forensics, cyber crime investigations, and computer crime law. These programs will be used for the further development of educational curricula for delivery to law enforcement. The trainings are designed to help in the prevention of cyber crime incidents and increase law enforcement's capacity to respond to, investigate, and prosecute cyber crimes. The Attorney General's Cyber Crime Division will also offer at least six internships to qualified students each year. CFATE will provide physical training facilities or classrooms for law enforcement cyber crime trainings at CFATE partner colleges.

CFATE will develop Certificate and Associate Degree programs in computer forensics at four Massachusetts community colleges recognized for the quality of their Information Technology and Criminal Justice programs. The current community colleges in the partnership include: Bunker Hill Community College, Bristol Community College, Middlesex Community College, Northern Essex Community College, and University of Massachusetts Boston.

Since taking office in January 2007, Attorney General Coakley has made prevention and prosecution of cyber crime a priority of her administration. Shortly after taking office, Attorney General Coakley also established a dedicated Cyber Crime Division within the office’s Criminal Bureau to lead the Attorney General’s Cyber Crime Initiative. Last fall, Attorney General Coakley unveiled “The Massachusetts Strategic Plan for Cyber Crime,” designed to help the Commonwealth develop a statewide capacity to prevent, investigate, and prosecute cyber crime. The plan calls for law enforcement training, enhanced information sharing, the development of common operating procedures and standards, funding for cyber crime programs, and amending current law as it pertains to cyber crime.

“Investigations and Trial Advocacy in Cases Involving Digital Evidence” convened on Monday, August 11, 2008, and will continue through Wednesday, August 13, 2008, at Bunker Hill Community College in Charlestown. Approximately 30 Assistant District Attorneys and investigators from the 11 district attorneys offices across the Commonwealth will attend the training.