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Champlain Grad Warren Kruse Presenting at CEIC

bCalacci — Tue, 22 May 2012 18:24:42 +0000

The Computer and Enterprise Investigations Conference (CEIC) in Las Vegas is the place to be this week if you are a digital forensics professional.

Champlain's admissions team of Bridget, Brian and Mark are all set up in the exhibit hall ready to network and they are looking forward to their after-hours gathering with the Champlain alums and current students in attendance at CEIC. Michael Wilkinson, Champlain's digital forensics master's degree program director, presents two sessions this afternoon; one on Kindle forensics and the other on making your digital forensics laboratory defensible in court.

Champlain College Computer & Digital Forensics alum Warren Kruse is also at CEIC this week, presenting a session Thursday titled The "Trusted" Insider: Investigating Intellectual Property Theft. Warren is the Vice President of Data Forensics at Altep Inc. and co-author of "Computer Forensics: Incident Response Essentials." He has worked on numerous computer forensics cases with some of the largest law firms and corportations in the world.

The presentation at CEIC is a panel presentation with George Wade of Booz, Allen, Hamilton and Michael Barba of BDO. The program description is as follows: "As company downsizing becomes more prevalent in today's economic downturn, businesses are increasingly vulnerable to the pirating of Intellectual Property by current and former employees. Learn how to mitigate these risks as one of the former lead investigators of the Lucent Technologies PathStar investigation shares the story for this discussion. See how Warren Kruse, George Wade and Michael Barba became aware of a potential issue, developed a strategic approach, assessed potential damages, and developed leads using forensic and network technologies which led to the arrest of three foreign nationals attempting to appropriate Intellectual Property which was valued to be in excess of one billion dollars. This investigation garnered worldwide attention and has received the High Tech Criminal Investigative Association's (HTCIA) Case of the Year award. Hear how computer and network forensics, along with current technologies and with a little luck, aided this investigation."

If you are at CEIC this week be sure to check in with Mark, Brian and Bridget and definitely catch Michael and Warren's sessions!

Viva Las Vegas...Champlain is at CEIC

bCalacci — Mon, 21 May 2012 15:47:35 +0000

The Champlain team is in Vegas this week, attending the Computer Enterprise and Investigation Conference (CEIC) as exhibitors and presenters.

In the exhibit hall be sure to stop in and see Bridget Baldwin and Mark Milne from the Division of Continuing Professional Studies, and Brian Holmes from the Office of Graduate Studies. They are ready and waiting to meet with you and answer any and all of your questions about our undergraduate and graduate degree programs in computer and digital forensics.

Michael Wilkinson, program director for Champlain's two master's degree programs in digital forensics as well as the co-director of the Senator Patrick Leahy Center for Digital Investigation at the College, is presenting in two sessions at the CEIC conference, both on Tuesday.

Michael's first presentation is on Kindle Forensics. The session description reads: "The Amazon Kindle 3G is a mobile device that is designed to prevent digital forensics examiners from performing a full forensic image of the underling operating system. This presentation will demonstrate how to accomplish this using a custom built application which streamlines the process. Analysis techniques will also be presented to demonstrate how to extract probative evidence for your case. The Kindle Fire will also be covered." This presentation is based on a Case Study performed by a student working as an intern in the Senator Patrick Leahy Center for Digital Investigation at Champlain College in Burlington, VT.

Michael's second presentation is titled Making Your Digital Forensic Laboratory Defensible in Court and is described as follows: "Do you have a standard operating procedure in your laboratory? Have you ever struggled with work flow or meeting clients expectations? Come learn how to build or modify your laboratory to ultimately make things easier and more defensible in court. Unique management techniques as well as technological solutions will be provided in this session." The objectives of this session include:

Propose the concept of accreditation;
Talk about how several of the larger labs (both Law enforcement and civil) in the world deal with digital lab management;
Talk about the pros and cons;
Talk about how forensic (non-digital) handle evidence and lab management;
Show open source lab management service that we developed and commercial tools that could be used;
Talk about scalability: 1-2 person labs up to 20-50 person labs, and how to be successful with each one.

We have a number of students attending and presenting at CEIC, keep an eye out for our next blog post where we talk about their presentations.

If you are not at CEIC, and you are looking for a quality computer and digital forensics conference to attend, consider the Techno Security & Digital Investigations Conference in Myrtle Beach on June 3-6. We will be there as well, exhibiting and presenting. Contact Bridget about free pass information.

Congratulations Class of 2012!

bCalacci — Thu, 17 May 2012 16:32:39 +0000

You are educated. Your certification is in your degree. You may think of it as the ticket to the good life. Let me ask you to think of an alternative. Think of it as your ticket to change the world. ~Tom Brokaw

On Saturday, May 5, Champlain College held its 134th commencement ceremony in Burlington, VT.

Over 515 Champlain undergraduates participated in the event, including 60 students from the Division of Continuing Professional Studies. These 60 CPS students represented over 200 CPS students who completed their degree and/or certificate program this past year. This year our graduates included students from AK, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, IA, ID, IL, MA, MD, ME, MI, NC, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, TX, UT, VA, VT, WA, WV.

Students earned professional certificates, associate degrees, bachelor's degrees and there were several graduates who earned multiple credentials! Attached is a list of all 200+ of our graduates, from August 2011-May 2012, including their program and hometown.

Congratulations to all our graduates!

Data Breaches in Hospitals on the Rise

bCalacci — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 18:20:07 +0000

The technology responsible for the management of patient data continues to advance and evolve at an ever increasing rate, and the demand for Health IT Specialists who understand these developments and can design useful yet secure systems continues in parallel.

A recent article in Network World titled “Hospitals seeing more patient data breaches” discusses the fact that the number of security breaches reported by health information managers has increased, “…27% of the respondents had at least one security breach over the past year, up from 19% in 2010 and 13% in 2008”. It is important to note that the term “security breach” is broadly defined, and may only refer to access to benign, public demographic data, or it might involve sensitive clinical data. But the bottom line is that systems must be designed to provide various levels of security, based upon the types of data involved. Seamless accessibility, across many platforms and with many degrees of authorization, the ability to convert clinical and other data into useful information for those who need it, and all in a secure manner – these are the challenges that must be overcome by Health IT experts.

Champlain’s degree in Health IT provides the knowledge and tools necessary for those who want to succeed in this rapidly evolving field. Courses in areas such as Networking Fundamentals, Computers and Network Security, Relational Database Design, and Enterprise Database Systems provide readily applicable technological knowledge, while courses such as Reimbursement Methodologies, Health Data Systems and Technology, and Healthcare Law & Regulation provide the context necessary to apply the technical know-how to the IT issues that are facing the healthcare industry today and into the future.

Forensic Accounting In The News

bCalacci — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 17:44:44 +0000

One of today's hottest career areas, forensic accounting, is featured in an April 15 article in The Washington Post about Johnson Lambert & Co. founder Larry Johnson. The article highlights what a career in forensic accounting can be like, including the type of work and salary range that can be expected.

Do you think you might be interested in combining your accounting skills with investigating financial crimes such as embezzlement, securities fraud, bankruptcy and other potentially criminal financial situations? Learn more about the forensic accounting certificate at Champlain College.

Oh, The Places You Will Go!

bCalacci — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 19:16:06 +0000

With only four (yes, that's 4) weeks of classes left here at Champlain (gulp!) we have been talking a lot with students and our colleagues about how exciting graduation is and about what their plans are post-graduation.

We believe Dr. Suess summed it up quite nicely in his book "Oh, The Places You Will Go!" when he started with:

Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You're off to Great Places!
You're off and away!

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You're on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go.

We also enjoyed some of these gems from commencement speakers at colleges throughout the country. These snippets were compiled by Jennifer Williamson, a columnist with distance-education.org.

What are some of your favorite quotes from commencement speakers?

Remembering Those Who Serve

bCalacci — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 15:11:05 +0000

We at Champlain College want to thank soldiers, past and present, and their families everywhere for all they sacrifice every day. If you are in the area stop in today and tie a ribbon on our honor tree.

Tie a Ribbon on an Honor Tree
Veterans Day 11.11.11
9:00am – 2:30pm
Where: Hauke Conference Room, Miller Center, Lakeside Campus Café

You are invited to tie a ribbon on an Honor Tree as a silent way to say “Thank You” to many different groups that have been affected by past and present wars.
White: In memory of a family/friend who gave/lost their life in service
Purple: In honor of a family friend who is serving
Yellow: General support and thanks to all Veterans and Service Members
Black: In recognition of someone who was a POW/MIA
Blue/Green: You are a Champlain College student or community member serving or who has served
(The colored ribbon will be available at each tree or you can bring and tie on your own)

Are you a Veteran? Tell us your branch of service, and if you are still active or retired.

Weird Science?

bCalacci — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 20:34:07 +0000

Champlain College will be teaming with students on Thursday November 10, 2011. While this isn't unusual for a college campus you should probably know the average age of these students will be eleven years old.

As part of an ongoing program to encourage interest in science and technology Champlain College and its Divison of Information Technology and Science is hosting it's fourth annual Kids In Technology & Science (K.I.T.S.) program.

This hands-on, tangible learning experience expects over 200 middle-school students from at least eleven area schools to participate in the fun-filled day. These students get a chance to work with our Champlain College undergraduate students, faculty and staff building computers and robots; then they will use those computers to learn basic animation concepts using Alice Programming and participate in an animation contest. Additionally, there will be tables with demonstrations of other science and technology areas of interest such as

mathematics
digital forensics investigation
hydrogen fuel cell
radiography

...and much more!

Students will have time to participate in two of the following stations:

Station 1 - Building Robots, 1.5 hours

Learn to build and program Lego Mindstorm Robots. Then, compete with your friends to see who can build the best!

Station 2 - Building Computers, 1. 5 hours

Ever wonder how your computer works? Build your own computer from the inside out!

Station 3 - Radiography & Science, 2 workshops, 45 minutes each

Radiography: You can find the disease process, see the images of a famous artist and count the puppies in a pregnant dog, all by viewing these diagnostic digital x-ray images. We will explore the bony skeletal anatomy and compare the model to our x-ray images. This will be an exploration of how x-rays are produced and how they are used in human and animal medicine.

3D-DNA: Get up close and personal with DNA. In this workshop, you will learn about the 3-dimensional structure of DNA, which looks like a spiral staircase, by building a scientifically accurate model of the DNA double helix from a kit.

Station 4 - Math & Games, 3 workshops, approximately 30 minutes each

Alice Programming Contest: (from Alice.org): Alice is an innovative 3D programming environment that makes it easy to create an animation for telling a story, playing an interactive game, or a video to share on the web. Alice is a teaching tool for introductory computing. It uses 3D graphics and a drag-and-drop interface to facilitate a more engaging, less frustrating first programming experience.

Virtual Robot Programming and AI Competition: In this workshop you’ll learn and use basic functional programming to get your virtual robot through a series of levels in an easy to learn “drag and drop” environment. You’ll have a limited time to get through as many levels as possible.

Math Game: Fly through space and experience a math game created by Gunther Fox, one of our own Champlain College students.

As the emphasis on the importance of science, math and technology grows in primary and secondary schools Champlain is proud to host this annual event. It is the college's hope that these students are intrigued by the these potential career areas and are inspired to pursue a dream they might not have realized was even an option.

Meet us in Park City, Utah November 7-9

bCalacci — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 19:35:23 +0000

We continue our tour of Computer Forensics & Digital Investigations conferences this month in Park City, Utah, where Bridget Baldwin, Director of Admission for the Division of CPS at Champlain College, will be at the PFIC Paraben Conference (in booth 4H) November 7-9.

In addition to our booth presence, we are excited to announce that we will be joined by Michael Wilkinson, co-director of Champlain College's Center for Digital Investigation and program director and instructor for the Champlain College graduate degree programs in Computer Forensics. Michael will present a session on "NTFS Bit by Byte" on Tuesday and then on Wednesday he has been asked to participate in a panel discussion about Forensic Education. This panel will address a number of audience questions, and focus on the following topic areas:

Why experience alone is not enough anymore
How education plays a factor in expert witness credibility
How to choose a credible forensic program
What universities are doing to make education easier for working adults
Where the future of education for forensic professionals is headed

If you are also attending the conference, or happen to be in the Park City area, let us know! We'd love to meet you.

Data, Data Everywhere...But Not A Drop To Drink

bCalacci — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 18:11:41 +0000

Many organizations find themselves awash in data but do not have the data management processes or analysts that help them determine what it all means. As this article from the McKinsey Quarterly shows through three different interviews, organizations can make a huge leap ahead of the competition if they learn to strategically analyze data to better manage themselves and their supply chain partners...at least until the competition catches up. The related videos put this growing career field in perspective and show how data-to-information is used in very different organizations.

Does your organization have a good data management process in place?

Do you make the most of the data you collect?

What type of courses do you think would be helpful to someone interested in a career as a data scientist/data analyst?