The first of 5 Thursday nights spent in Menlo Park attending the FBI Citizens' Academy went off well. Our first night topics included a general introduction to the FBI, counterintelligence and computer forensics.

The sessions are held at the regional computer forensics laboratory in Menlo Park and the attendees in my session are a broad cross section from the community. From computer geeks (like myself) to school principals, attorneys, professors, entrepreneurs and movie makers, the class seems to represent a little of everything from the 15 counties in the San Francisco division.

After a good overview and history of the FBI, we were introduced to the counterintelligence strategic plan. With respect to counterintelligence, the goal of the program is to identity and disrupt threats while also trying to change the behavior at targeted organizations to minimize exploitation. In order to meet goals of identification, disruption and behavior change, the FBI has six counter intelligence strategic objectives.

1. Prevent or neutralize WMD technology or equipment
2. Prevent penetration of US intelligence community
3. Prevent penetration of US government entities and contractors
4. Prevent penetration of critical national assets
5. Conduct counterintelligence operations focusing on countries that constitute the most significant threat to U.S. strategic objectives
6. Collect, produce, and disseminate domestic foreign intelligence and counterintelligence.

The final topic for the evening was a presentation by the director of the regional computer forensics lab. The RCFL in Menlo Park services all law enforcement agencies within the area, just not the FBI. The facility houses 9 fulltime analysts whose job it is to extract evidence from computers in accordance with legal warrants. Any local enforcement agency can drop off computer equipment for analysis. And while it's the FBI that foots the bill for the lab, it's both the FBI and local agencies that support and use the facility. According to the director, there are 14 labs and some 400 computer forensic examiners nationwide.

During week 2 of the FBI Citizens Academy we were introduced to the cybercrime division and the art of the polygraph.

The FBI's cyber crime mission is to:

1. Stop serious computer crime intrusions
2. Identity and thwart online sexual predators using the Internet for crimes against children
3. Counteract operations that target US intellectual property, endangering national security and competitiveness
4. Dismantle national and transitional organized criminal enterprises engaged in Internet fraud.

Terrorists use the Internet to facilitate the "3 C's" - Command, Control, and Communication. The FBI reports that terrorists commonly use public sites for intelligence gathering, like Google maps and localized municipalities that put maps of critical infrastructure on their websites. In addition, terrorists use the Internet for advertising, propaganda, fund raising, recruitment and training.

Often times, the terrorist groups use US based businesses (Yahoo, MSN, Gmail) for email because US privacy laws protect the information. At any one time, there are an estimated 5 to 20 thousand active terrorist websites on the Internet. A number of prior terrorist website examples were shown including discussion boards that were being used to share intelligence on target victim sites. The FBI called out a number of common cyber security attacks that included: website defacement, denial of service, Intrusion and SCADA. In particular, the threats and possible outcomes with regards to importance of SCADA systems were highlighted.

The second primary discussion point for cyber security was that of crimes against children. Due to the long-term psychological impact related to these types of cases, agents must volunteer for these assignments. The presenter discussed their common workloads and walked the class thru two case studies that involved pedophile activity discovered when the perpetrator posted evidence online. What I found most interesting about this part of the presentation was the role the Internet has played in finding these perpetrators. Crimes against children are not new and if law enforcement primarily finds suspects due to Internet activity, then consider the number of people who don't put their pictures on the Internet. And how many of these crimes are / were committed before the Internet came into existence.

The second topic for week 2 was the polygraph. Polygraph, means "many tracings", and the test examines the subject's physiological reactions to questions by looking for changes in breathe rate, sweat and cardio.

The polygraph test itself consists of three phases; the pre test interview, the in-test phase and the post-test. The polygrapher reviews the results and determines the results to be one of three classifications: NDI, DI or INC. These acronyms stand for No Deception Indicated, Deception Indicated and Inconclusive. The results of polygraph tests are not admissible as evidence due to a number of precedent setting court cases. In addition, in a number of independent studies including a 2003 report from the National Academy of Sciences, find the tests to be less than 100% accurate.

Within the FBI there are 95 examiners nationwide and nearly 18,000 exams are issued each year worldwide. In order to qualify as a polygrapher, agents must pass a 14-week course administered by the Academy of Polygraph Science. The training includes administering 50 live exams during the 14 weeks. Upon graduation, agents are assigned to a senior examiner for 1 year.

Week three of our course encompassed a presentation and hands-on workshops with the evidence response team and in real life it's nothing like the popular TV show CSI.

Better known as ERT, the 32-member team of the San Francisco division is staffed by volunteer agents. Nationwide, the FBI has 56 teams with about 1,200 members. When the team has a "callout", no less than 8 agents respond to the crime scene and their time on-scene can easily take an entire day. Their job description sounds easy; it's the collection and preservation of evidence. In actuality, the work is both meticulous and daunting.

After an initial presentation we broke into working groups and we each got a chance to try three key tasks: collecting fingerprints, using the alternate light source and learning the "art of the sketch".

As with all the evidence work, collecting fingerprints requires experience. The challenge of finding prints, dusting and collection were evident from our blackened fingers and work surfaces.

Next, we learned about the magical properties of light by using a device called the alternate light source (ALS). The ALS can emit a number of selectable wavelengths that causes resident materials to either absorb or reflect light. In one example, a carpet sample that contained an obvious bloodstain under white light later emanated a much larger stain by use of the ALS.

Finally, we learned the importance and art of "the sketch". The agent assigned to sketch duty is generally the first to walk a crime scene. Using landmarks, tape measures and laser sights, the sketcher produces a bird's eye view of the scene. It is their job to both accurately depict the scene where evidence is found and give the evidence gathering team directions at the scene.

Week 4 of the FBI Citizens' Academy: Violent Crimes, White Collar Crimes and Civil Rights Crimes.

The mission of the FBI violent crimes program is to:
* Effectively address those violent crimes that pose significant risk to citizens of the US.
* Reduce incidents of crimes against children.
* Address other major violent crimes to include Indian Country, transportation and other special jurisdiction crimes.

Common crimes include bank robbery, kidnapping, and extortion. The presenter referred to the uniformed crime report (UCR) for anyone wanting the most up to date crime statistics. He did, however, highlight some interesting statistics. According to the 2006 UCR, there are only 2.4 sworn law officers per very 1,000 inhabitants in the US. Further, according to a number of news outlets, nearly 1 in every 100 adults is behind bars.

The presenter turned our attention to criminal gang activity nationally and locally. According to Morgan and Quinto press, in 2007 the most dangerous cities included Oakland at number 4 and Richmond in9th place. Gangs, as the presenter taught us, fulfill social needs for their members. Whether it is the mimicking of an extended family, creating social or ethnic bonds, the gangs provide members with an identity that is represented by their clothing, hand signs, graffiti and tattoos.

White-collar crime efforts fall into 2 areas of the national FBI priority list - #4 combat public corruption at all levels and #7 combat major white collar crime. Crimes that typically fall under the white-collar division include public corruption, corporate or securities fraud and health care fraud. Of these crimes, the most up and coming are financial fraud including mortgage fraud and Ponzi schemes. The FBI investigates public corruption cases and provides check and balances in the criminal justice system because agents typically have fewer local and political ties.

The final topic for the evening was civil rights. The FBI is the primary federal agency responsible for investigating all allegations of civil rights violations. Selected crimes involving civil rights allegations include: hate crimes, color of law, human trafficking and freedom of access to clinic entrances act.

Week 5 of the FBI Citizens' Academy was mostly dedicated to counterterrorism.

First we received an overview of the counterterrorism program from the local assistant special agent in charge for the counterterrorism group. The number 1 priority of the FBI is to protect the United States from a terrorist attack. This includes protecting US interests and citizens both locally and located abroad. We learned about the joint terrorism task force (JTTF) that makes up federal, state and local law enforcement personnel. The JTTF acts as an integrated investigative force to combat domestic and internal terrorism. Here in the Bay Area we also have a northern California regional intelligence center, also referred to as a fusion center. After the overview, speakers led the class thru 2 separate case studies. The first of domestic terrorism related to individuals harming local university professors that worked in areas where animal tested is involved. The second case study demonstrated a case of international terrorism. In this second case, a local bay area resident was found supporting terrorists on foreign soil by monetary means.

The evening ended with a quick discussion of InfraGard. InfraGard is a partnership between the FBI and the private sector for information sharing and analysis. The partnership works towards preventing hostile acts against the United States.