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Cyber Detective

Interviews

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Becoming a cyber detective came naturally to Michael Spohn. With his law enforcement background, a deep fascination with computers and a strong desire to learn more about them, he came to realize that this field was the perfect career choice.

"Computer forensic work is an intersection of computer science, forensic science and classic investigative techniques," he explains. "I have had many technology jobs over the last 20 years. Without a doubt, this is the most exciting work I have ever done."

Spohn is a now a consultant with a California-based company that secures systems from threats worldwide. "Doing computer investigations is fun for me -- I do not consider it work."

And that's a good thing, because what Spohn does takes time and commitment. Some cases can be relatively easy. Others are never solved.

"A computer forensic investigation is a search for facts," says Spohn. "What happened? When did it happen? Who did it? How did they do it? Why did they do it? No two investigations are the same.

"I have been involved in simple cases that I completed in a few hours. Other cases take years to figure out. Sometimes we never do know the answer. In every case, the investigator is always in the middle and must be completely impartial. Our job is to find the truth."

Spohn says that finding that proof is "plain old hard work." Cyber detectives and computer forensic examiners must always study to keep up to date with the latest technology and forensic techniques. But for Spohn and those like him, that work is well worth the effort.

"Solving crimes is always satisfying," he says. "Catching criminals is just plain fun. The most satisfying part of my work is digging deep into the details of an investigation, creating a timeline of events, and correlating those events to determine what happened and who did it.

"Forensic investigations are like complex puzzles. You must look for all the pieces (clues) and assemble them correctly to create a big picture."

But don't think that the "big picture" is always one of catching thieves and other lawbreakers. Or that the most satisfying work comes from the biggest cases.

"Some of the most satisfying work is the simplest," Spohn offers. "Take, for example, data recovery. There are very sophisticated and expensive tools we use to locate deleted data on a hard drive.

"These tools can also recover data after a hard drive crash. I did a job once for a post-graduate student who was working on a doctoral thesis. The document was on a laptop computer, the hard drive crashed, and there was no backup. More than a year's worth of research notes was on that drive. Luckily, I was able to recover all the data. Believe me when I tell you that student was elated."

Saving a doctoral thesis is one thing, but the scope of what people like Spohn do is much larger than that. And he believes that today's students have a role to play in the field.

"Computer crime is a big problem for law enforcement. There will always be a need for honest, competent, and hard-working investigators."

Gord Hama agrees. He has seen many changes in computer crime through his police work. But one thing he doesn't expect will change is the demand for people to fight that crime.

"It is an interesting field. I have seen it evolve from when mainframe computers and keypunch cards ruled. I was hooked when I first learned to program -- translating a thought process to automation. The biggest thing that has kept me here is the need for intellectual challenge and job satisfaction.

"The most pleasurable part is the satisfaction of knowing that the work you performed contributed to successfully stopping criminal activity and stopping the victimization of individuals and/or businesses," he says. "I am a tiny cog in a very large wheel. Hopefully my tiny contribution to law enforcement is making [my country] a better place to live and do business."

Spohn also offers advice on how to succeed as a cyber detective, or in any other career.

"I believe success is a combination of three things; a good education, good character, and hard work."