Utica College Hosts Cyber-Crime Conference

On October 1st, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced the authorization for the agency to hire up to 1,000 new information security workers during the next three years to analyze risks to computer networks, determine how to respond to cyber attacks, detect security holes in systems, investigate attacks, and manage network and system engineering. That announcement prompted news stories on institutions and activities in the field, which included mention of a school that has two research institutions in the digital crime field and offers several related degrees as well.

The Economic Crimes Institute of Utica College in New York is hosting a conference next week that will draw together experts from the several specialty areas that have developed along with the use of the internet for criminal activity. This annual event is offering three tracks through the weekend of seminars: attendees can chose from cyber-security, economic crime and identity theft.

The Reuters story provides details about the event: there will be discussions of authentication tokens to protect identity for online transactions, cross-border cybercrime, data security, mortgage fraud, organized crime, investment schemes, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and electronic evidence gathering.

Utica is also home to the Center for Identity Management and Information Protection (CIMIP) which has completed a study of closed Secret Service identity theft cases. None of this is new to Utica College; their undergraduate degree in economic crimes investigation has been in the school catalogue for twenty years. There is also a bachelor’s program for the cyber security specialist profession. One of their popular management programs is the master’s degree in criminal justice administration.

In fact, the school has a comprehensive program of Homeland Security degrees and studies in related fields. The cutting-edge approach to criminal investigation has extended to their business school, where the MBA program offers areas of concentration in “fraud management” and in criminal accounting practices.

The school’s early role in cyber-crime has made them a leader in the field. Co-sponsors of the conference, to be held in Maryland, are Allen Corporation of America, BNY Mellon, Cisco, Daylight Forensic & Advisory, Hage & Hage Law and Consulting, JCPenney, McKesson, TransUnion, Van Scoyoc Associates, and Wilson & Turner Investigative Consultants.

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