No-cost Computer Forensics seminar and clean room tour April 15

03/16/2012
LYNNWOOD — t’s a computer user’s nightmare — a hard drive damaged in a flood or fire and the information on it lost. There’s hope, though: The data may be recoverable, given that an expert with the right skills can be found. Now Edmonds College students are learning those skills.

Students are working in the college’s new, clean room and digital forensics lab, a dust-free, chemical-free environment where it’s safe to peer into the head and platter assemblies of computer hard drives. Getting the data back can be a feat worth thousands.

It can also provide priceless information to detectives trying to solve crimes and find missing persons. Mysteries can be solved when data is recovered.

So far, 53 students have taken the college’s Advanced Data Recovery class and been certified as Data Recovery Experts. The class will be offered again this spring as part of the college’s Digital Forensics Certificate and Information Security and Digital Forensics Degree program.

Instructors Steve Hailey and Mike Andrew are both Certified Data Recovery Experts, trained by internationally recognized data recovery expert Scott Moulton, and authorized to teach using Moulton’s Data Recovery Certification Course. Moulton has provided training for the CIA, FBI, NASA, Australian Police, Egyptian Police, and Saudi Arabian Police.

The college will also offer advanced data recovery training and use of its clean room equipment to local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies

The college began offering its Information Security degree in 2005 to meet the growing demand nationwide for cyber security expertise. Students in the college’s program can test for AccessData Certified Examiner, Certified Data Recovery Expert, CyberSecurity Forensic Analyst (CSFA), Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), and Security+ certifications. The Certified Ethical Hacker curriculum is also being added to the program, with students being able to test for the CEH certification as part of the Designing Network Security course.

In addition to being Certified Data Recovery Experts, Hailey and Andrew are AccessData Certified Examiners, Certified Ethical Hackers, and Digital Forensic Certified Practitioners. They have been published by the American Academy of Forensic Science and they co-authored a text, "Computer Forensics Core Competencies-Practical Skills for the Forensic Examiner.” They have taught for the Washington State High Technology Crime Investigation Association and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Cyberterrorism Defense Initiative as subject matter experts.

Last year, they also taught law enforcement as well as members of the Judiciary in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at the special invitation of that country’s government.

Students in the college’s Digital Forensics program often assist with actual law enforcement cases in class. They have helped crack computer trespass, fraud, and child pornography cases. Students have gone on to work in the industry including as forensics analysts for the Washington State Office of the Attorney General.

Spring classes at the college run April 2-June 15. Enroll now. For more information about Computer Information System classes and the Information Security and Digital Forensics Program, call 425.640.1902, email cis@edmonds.edu.

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