NCSA to develop tool to help law officers address cybercrime

Project supported by grant from National Institute of Justice: The National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) has been awarded more than $300,000 from the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) for the first year of a two-year project to develop a tool that aids law officers addressing cybercrime. State and local law enforcement officers often deal with crimes that have a computer component, whether they are responding to a report of cyberstalking or simply trying to determine if a suspect's computer holds significant evidence. Because these first-responders are typically not experts in computer and networking technologies, NCSA aims to develop a portable, low-cost tool to help them easily gather the information they need. This Live Computer System Capture and Triage Tool (CCTT) will help officers quickly, easily, accurately gather information from a digital system and also will support on-site examination of evidence. The CCTT will provide interactive guidance for users, helping them determine whether a computer system needs to be taken in for further investigation or whether the critical information can be gathered in the field. NCSA's work to design, develop, and test this low-cost, portable tool will be part of the National Center for Digital Intrusion Response (NCDIR), a collaboration between NCSA and the FBI. The CCTT work will be led by Randy Butler and Von Welch and will be performed in collaboration with the FBI.