Friday, May 7, 2004; Noon-1pm Sc N321

Speaker: Thomas Schwarz, SJ, Associate Professor, Santa Clara University

Computer Forensics is an emerging field of computer science and engineering with a heavy compone nt of ethics, criminology, and law. With an increase in criminal activity using or affecting a computer system (such as network intrusion) or leaving traces on a computer (such as a ransom note printed on a PC) Computer Forensics is gaining in importance. In particular, Computer Forensics has become a necessary sub-discipline of Information Assurance. Currently, the US as well as any other industrialized nation has an acute shortage of trained Computer Forensics analyst.

In its current practice, Computer Forensics deals with mainly two areas: finding evidence on a computer and dealing with the aftermath of an intrusion. While intrusion response often concentrates on dealing with the effects of the incident and not with apprehending the perpetrator, we need to figure out the modus operandi of the attack to prevent repetition.