MET Cybercrime Expert Illustrates Investigative Acumen Ahead of Third Annual White Hat Cybersecurity Conference

A BU Today profile put the spotlight on MET’s director of Cybercrime Investigation & Cybersecurity (CIC) programs, Professor of the Practice Kyung-shick Choi, highlighting his unique expertise at training law enforcement on matters of crime pertaining to personal data, hacking, and cyber-theft ahead of next week’s third annual International White Hat Conference.

As Choi illustrates in his course, Applied Digital Forensic Investigation (MET CJ 710)—foundational to both the Graduate Certificate in Cybercrime Investigation & Cybersecurity and the Master of Science in Criminal Justice concentration in Cybercrime Investigation & Cybersecurity—the prevalence of publicly available data poses an effective risk to anyone with a personal history, which is why it is so vital to find universal means to train regional law enforcement, as well as federal investigators, to keep pace with the exponential rise in threat level.

“In every class, we learn new investigative techniques that are truly eye-opening to identify bad actors,” Boston University Police Department Lt. Paul Mahoney, a 32-year police veteran, told BU Today. “I look forward to using the skills I am developing from Doctor Choi’s classes and the other courses that make up the Cybercrime/Cybersecurity graduate program. His class came highly recommended by several of my law enforcement associates from the local and federal level. Doctor Choi has earned his reputation as leader in the field.”

Much of Choi’s academic research focuses on ways human behavior and technology interact with criminal justice systems, and the environments that lead to online crime. His approach is widely recognized, and in 2021, under his leadership, MET hosted the International White Hat Conference, which saw more than 1,400 attendees from across the globe join in the effort to address the future of cybercrime through innovative solutions.

Choi, who recently won the American Society of Criminology’s Division of Cybercrime’s Outstanding Contribution Award, was a police officer in South Korea before coming to the United States to study criminology. He turned his focus to cybercrime investigation after being a victim of one such crime himself—a personal data breach that led to the theft of more than $50,000.

“Learning from someone who is as renowned in the field as Doctor Choi is truly one of the coolest things to have come of my time at the University,” said Michael Ross (MET’23), a Master of Science in Criminal Justice student. “Being able to go to class every week to learn from, and talk to, someone who I know I’ll be quoting in academic pieces on cybercrime for years to come is an experience like no other in my academic career.”

Led by Professor Choi, MET will once again host the International White Hat Conference, a virtual event being held June 1–2. Sponsored once more by a grant from the US Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance, it is the latest entry in the large-scale effort to upskill criminal justice practitioners worldwide with the digital forensics capabilities needed to lead successful investigations and meet the growing threats and challenges of cybercrime.

The area of focus of this year’s conference is “The Evolution of Illicit Crypto Use: Current Approaches and Future Challenges for Financial and Government Sectors.” Visit here to register.