John Jay faculty members Marie-Helen Maras of the Department of Security, Fire and Emergency Management and Adam Scott Wandt of the Department of Public Management recently delivered a series of trainings to FBI agents and staff on important topics in cybersecurity. The trainings took place this semester at the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The first of these lectures was delivered at the FBI-New York office on January 17, 2018, and focused on the latest trends in data aggregation, looking specifically at Internet of Things (IOT) forensics and investigations. Professors Maras and Wandt, who are also faculty of the Digital Forensics and Cybersecurity graduate program, trained agents and professorial staff on methods they should use to protect themselves and their families.
The second of these lectures, titled “Hacking…You ~ Phishing, Spearphishing, and Whaling: Email Forensics and Countermeasures,” was delivered at the FBI-New York office on February 28, 2018. This lecture covered deception and social engineering tactics, ways to identify the methods used by criminal organizations and foreign governments to illicit information and gain unauthorized access to protected systems, and the measures that can be used to counter cyberattacks and intelligence collection efforts. A live demonstration was conducted using two sophisticated spearphishing attacks designed to steal login credentials and infect the target’s system with malware.
“This is an incredible opportunity to introduce our latest research to the Bureau,” Professor Wandt explained. “The digital landscape changes so quickly, it’s important for everyone in law enforcement to understand how these changes impact their ability to investigate crimes and keep the public safe.”
Marie-Helen Maras has authored several books including Cybercriminology and Computer Forensics: Cybercriminals, Laws and Evidence and is the creator and co-editor for a monograph and edited volume series titled, “Palgrave Studies in Cybercrime and Cybersecurity.” Prior to her academic post, she served in the U.S. Navy for approximately seven years gaining significant experience in security and law enforcement from her posts as a Navy Law Enforcement Specialist and Command Investigator.
Professor Adam Scott Wandt is an Assistant Professor of Public Policy and member of the full-time faculty of the Department of Public Management at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. He is also a member of the graduate faculty in the Master of Digital Forensics and Cyber Security program and regularly teaches Information Security, Data Communications: Interception, Forensics and Security; and a course examining the role technology plays in the inspection and oversight community, the latter which he has also taught at the United States Military Academy at West Point.
