While local law enforcement agencies search for ways to deal with Internet and computer crime, two instructors at Southwestern Community College are teaching students to combat on-line lawlessness.

“Cyber Crime” is a new two-year degree program that started this fall at the Webster campus. The course combines information technology and criminal justice to prepare students to monitor computer activity for industry and law enforcement.

“We think we are the only school in the country doing this right now,” said Mike Burnette, chairman of SCC’s criminal justice program and the man credited with coming up with the idea for the new curriculum.

Working with Burnette to put the program together and get it approved by the state Department of Community Colleges was Kirk Stephens, chairman of the information systems program at SCC. Stephens aid the program is drawing lots of attention.

“I’ve had calls all summer about it, many from out of state. We’ve also gotten lots of email from people,” said Stephens.

Perhaps even more important is student interest — about 30 signed up for the first class in the program, “Introduction to Cyber Crimes.”

“We thought it would be something that would catch on, but it has so far exceeded our expectations,” said Burnette.

When the pair approached community college officials about the program, the higher-ups were skeptical. Those officials wondered if graduates would be able to find jobs. Burnette got on the phone to his contacts in law enforcement, and it became clear that the need was enormous.

“All of the agencies and people we talked to were very excited about the possibilities,” said Stephens.
But the curriculum isn’t all about computers. The students will learn traditional investigative techniques. Through a partnership with the state Justice Academy in Edneyville, all graduates will hold a “Criminal Investigator Certificate’ upon completion of the curriculum.

There will also be training in ethics, which gets particularly confusing when using computers as an investigative tool, Burnette said. As an example, he pointed to a program the FBI uses that can route all emails being sent to an individual into an investigator’s computer.

“If someone is being investigated for child porn, but the emails turn up drug dealing, what happens to the information? Is it admissible in court? Should you use it?” Burnette asked. “These are questions these students need to explore.”

Stephens said that students graduating with a cyber crime degree will be qualified for jobs other than law enforcement.

“People like Internet service providers need employees who can monitor activity and see what’s going on. Private companies need to be able to monitor the computer use of employees,” Stephens said.
“Hospitals have a great need to protect confidentiality and patient records.”

“We really just don’t know where the graduates will go,” Stephens said.

In addition to ethics and an overview of cyber crime, students will take computer forensics, which will teach them to retrieve information; computer crime investigation, which will show them how to use a computer for processing information; traditional law enforcement classes; and will take up to six computer courses emphasizing everything from hardware and software installation to Internet Security.
Both instructors said the curriculum was difficult, but that they immediately noticed some similarities between criminal justice and information technology students.

“Both require analytical people who can pay attention to detail and who are observant. Computer people and criminal investigators need to possess similar skills,” Stephens said.

Next year, the pair hopes to take the course online, which could give them students from across the country and abroad. And as computer crime continues to become a larger problem, both suspect the popularity and need for such a curriculum will continue to grow.

“Stealing something with a gun is nowhere near as sexy as stealing something with a computer. You can do things quickly and, since there is a degree of anonymity, you get desensitized to it,” Stephens aid.

 

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The Smoky Mountain News