Metro State makes its mark through a little computer detective work

Howie Padilla, Star Tribune
Original date of publication: June 18, 2007

Five years ago, about the same time that the iPod was taking flight, Metropolitan State University Prof. Jigang Liu was trying to find a better way to teach the school how to get information from digital devices.

Metropolitan State already offered programs in computer science and computer technology and security. But those degrees were based on programming. What about a degree that dealt with computer systems? Liu thought.

At a California conference, he found his answer: Computer forensics, a new law enforcement tool that collects evidence electronically stored or encrypted on computers, cell phones and other digital devices.

It took more than two years of research and proposals for Liu to convince others that a four-year computer forensics degree would help Metropolitan State to distinguish itself.

This spring the Metropolitan State program, the only four-year computer forensics course of study in Minnesota, had its first graduate: 29-year-old Eric Lucero.

"A lot of the methodologies that are tied with law enforcement are the same procedures used in computer forensics," said Lucero. "Following the chain of command, writing warrants, how you handle everything and documenting everything—it’s the basis of computer forensics."

Criminal suspects often keep detailed information on digital devices about what they’ve stolen, where it was sold and for how much, said Tony Heredia, Target’s director of investigations. In many cases, those suspects try to delete the information if they sense that they’ve been found out.

"Being able to go in and do a search of these files, and find valuable court admissible evidence, absolutely requires trained forensic capabilities," said Heredia.

Finding the digital footprint

The computer forensics field began to explode in the ‘90s, as attorneys and corporations in the middle of investigations sought to pull information off computer hard drives.

Word was getting around about that time that technicians at Eden Prairie - based Kroll Ontrack were good at inspecting hard drives, said Michele Lange, the company’s director of legal technologies. Once or twice a year, they would be asked to do it for someone.

By decade’s end, however, officials were seizing on the new enterprise.

"Now, in 2007, at any one time, we’re probably working on 100 cases," said Lange.

On at least two occasions, the popular "CSI" TV franchise has called on Kroll Ontrack to ensure that a story line involving computer forensics was accurate, said Lange. The company has grown to 1,500 employees in offices across the country and overseas, including 700 employees in Eden Prairie! One of its most recent hires is Lucero.

In 2001, Lucero had a law enforcement degree, but he wasn’t sure about what to do with it. He loved the intellectual process that officers use in solving crimes, but he didn’t have the appetite for the confrontations that street cops face daily.

Looking at business trends, he turned his attention to computers. Then, in a Metropolitan State newsletter, he stumbled across an ad for the school’s new computer forensics program.

He went to an informational meeting. In the time it takes to strike a delete key, Lucero was hooked.

‘A different world’

Target started dabbling in computer forensics in 2000 and built a lab three years later. It now employs two full-time examiners and is considering an intern program that would allow students and police officers new to computer forensics to get experience in the company lab.

"Like any big retailer, we’re constantly the target of organized theft or fraud activity," said Heredia. "We work with law enforcement every day to figure out who these people are."

In the two years since Metropolitan State began its computer forensics program, 80 students have enrolled. Heredia and Gregg Patyk, senior manager of global investigations and forensic services for Target, commended Liu’s vision.

"You’re hard-pressed in this day and age not to have some sort of digital footprint relevant to whatever you’re looking at," said Heredia. "It’s our reality." "It’s a different world now," Patyk added. "Everything is digital, and it’s the people that get the degrees and that foundation that will succeed in this type of work."

Staff writer Paul Gustafson contributed to this report. Howie Padilla, (651) 298-1551; hpadilla@startribune.com

Copyright 2007 Star Tribune. Republished with permission of Star Tribune, Minneapolis-St. Paul. No further republication or redistribution is permitted without the written consent of Star Tribune.