MET Cybersecurity Program Earns Department of Justice Research Grant to Develop Internet of Things Investigation Training Courses
The US Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) has awarded the Boston University Metropolitan College Cybercrime Investigation & Cybersecurity (CIC) program a grant of $440,000, dedicated to producing a new, three-tiered training program to support the development of innovative, practical training methodologies for investigations involving Internet of Things (IoT) devices and systems.
Awarded jointly to BU MET and the University of Texas at San Antonio, the grant is titled, “The Internet of Things National Training and Technical Assistance Program.” The project will be a collaboration between the two universities as well as WestEd’s Justice and Prevention Research Center, who will provide continuous feedback to ensure training courses meet the highest standards of relevance and effectiveness. As co-PIs, Professor Kyung-shick Choi and Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Lou Chitkushev will, in partnership with the University of Texas at San Antonio, develop an advanced course focused on IoT forensics for robots. Dr. Choi’s responsibilities include overseeing the design of the IoT training and collaborating with the evaluation team.
A fast-growing commercial sector, the global market for IoT devices is projected to reach $650.5 billion by 2026. But as the usage of these devices grows, so too do their users become increasingly vulnerable to cyber-attacks, as the risk commences within minutes of internet connectivity.
While IoT technologies, which range from consumer products like smart home devices and wearables to embedded medical devices like wireless pacemakers, offer consumers convenience, they also pose significant investigative challenges, given their complexity. The data they generate and store can be pivotal in criminal investigations, such as human and drug trafficking, yet there is a critical gap in law enforcement’s ability to effectively extract actionable intelligence from these devices.
This program will address these challenges by delivering multi-level training courses (basic, intermediate, and advanced) designed to equip state and local law enforcement with the necessary skills to mine those sources, conduct comprehensive IoT forensic analyses, and lead successful investigations. This partnership will also serve as a foundation for developing an extensive curriculum that addresses the ongoing and evolving needs of IoT forensic investigations.
CIC at Metropolitan College is well acquainted with BJA funding. In 2022, it received $437,500 to pilot another IoT-based training program, dedicated to supporting police investigations pertaining to online crimes against children, sex trafficking, cryptocurrency, and the dark web. Professors Choi and Chitkushev also serve as co-PI and PI for an $881,201 Department of Justice grant that focuses on the need for law enforcement training and education in the realms of digital evidence and computer forensics.