Judges

This intermediate spreadsheeting course uses Microsoft Excel to assess and organize data in an electronic format. The class is designed for learners who have experience using Excel and who want to increase their spreadsheeting knowledge and skills. Topics include text functions, absolute referencing, date and time functions, flash fill, handling formula errors, VLOOKUP, dynamic arrays, and data validation. The course combines live demonstrations, instructor-led exercises, and independent student exercises.

This three-day course is dedicated to studying the fundamentals of quantitative and qualitative data analysis and how to formulate arguments in support of criminal investigations and intelligence. Students will learn about data management techniques and a disciplined process to clean and standardize data in preparation for analysis. The course will also explore several common investigative objectives, including the discovery of associations between people and entities, the correlation between unlawful activity and suspects, behavioral affinities, and predictions. The course will introduce the Enterprise Theory of Crime and how to use network analysis to formulate conclusions about the structure of criminal organizations, their players and roles, the identification of facilitators, charting of financial arrangements, and connections to unlawful activity. The course enables the production of valuable, accurate, and efficient logical inferences produced by collecting data related to unlawful activity.

This course provides students with the fundamental knowledge and skills they need to investigate crimes involving virtual currency. Instructors explain foundational concepts like the characteristics of money, virtual currency, and cryptocurrency. Blockchain technology, proof work, and proof of stake are covered; and students learn how industry-leading cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Monero) work and how they differ from each other. Finally, students learn investigative techniques for tracking and documenting transactions; and best practices for seizing and securing cryptocurrency.

*Virtual currency basics. History of money and of virtual currency. Categorizing virtual currency.
*Blockchain. History of the blockchain. Understanding different protocols.
*Cryptocurrencies in detail. Bitcoin, Ethereum, Monero and other privacy coins.
*Investigative techniques. Seizing virtual currency; tracking transactions through the blockchain; documenting investigative results.

This course introduces analysts to the broader concepts of connecting the dots through link analysis. A critical portion of conducting a successful analytical investigation is the ability to link together and understand the complexities of the connectedness between people and organizations. Introduction to Link Analysis (ILA) expands on the basic principles of link and association analyses explored in the Foundations of Intelligence Analysis Training (FIAT) while building a framework for more advanced methods such as social network analysis.

Expanding basic knowledge of link and association analysis
Explaining the process of social network analysis
Understanding the visual mapping and mathematical components associated with link and social network analyses

This three-day course covers the fundamentals of financial investigations and incorporates some of the more advanced processes that elevate an investigation. During this course, students will learn about investigative processes, practical tools, and sources of information necessary to plan and conduct financial investigations. The course begins with a description of the basic composition of elements within illicit financial networks and how they work to compromise legitimate business and financial sectors. Course material will describe government, regulatory, and investigative actions within the United States, and by international partners to detect and investigate illicit actors and networks. The course also includes considerations for investigation planning and promotion of creative thinking.

This course introduces learners to the concept of digital footprints and best practices in protecting personally identifiable information (PII). Topics include limiting an individuals digital footprint, protecting privacy on social media, and the consequences of oversharing personal information; as well as steps to take after becoming a target of doxing.

*Current landscape. Emerging technology and trends that can aid criminals in the commission of identity theft, credit card theft, child exploitation, and production of counterfeit documents.
*Personally identifiable information (PII). Learn what PII is, why it can threaten individuals safety, and the scams and exploits criminals use to obtain it.
*Minimizing your digital footprint. Learn how and why you should remove PII, and how to find where information may be located. Instructors demonstrate how to secure digital devices and request removal of data from a website.
*Social media. Use security and privacy settings to control the amount of available information on multiple platforms.
*Resources. Identify resources that can help victims of identity theft, doxing, and other related crimes.

This course covers the acquisition, examination, and analysis of many types of financial records, including bank statements and checks, wire transfer records, and business records. Topics include recognizing and investigating common indicators of fraud, using spreadsheets to facilitate analysis and pattern recognition, and financial profiling. There is a strong focus on presenting financial evidence in multiple modalities: spreadsheet data outputs, graphic representations, and written/oral presentations.

*Introduction to analysis. Best practices. Finding patterns. Indicators of fraud. Presenting your findings.
*Financial records. Bank records. Business documents.
*Financial profiling. Methods of profiling. Reasons to create a profile. Creating a profile.
*Hands-on experience. Work a mock financial case as part of an investigative team.

This course introduces the problem of intellectual property theft and provides tools, techniques, and resources for investigating and prosecuting these crimes. A combination of lecture, discussion, and interactive exercises illustrates the potential dangers and economic repercussions of counterfeit products, as well as best practices and techniques for investigating IP theft. Students are provided with a state-specific folder that includes relevant statutes, sample organizational documents for IP investigations, and additional resources for investigators and prosecutors.

This course is presented in collaboration with the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG).
Awareness. Types of IP crimes. The criminals who commit these crimes. Impacts and dangers.
Investigation. Online and traditional techniques. Working with brand experts and the private sector. Large amounts of evidence. Resources.
Statutes. Prosecutorial theories. State-specific discussion.
Hands-on experience. Work with real counterfeit products. Identify fakes with expert guidance.

This course is for officers, investigators, and analysts who encounter cell phone evidence that includes information external to the phone. Class concepts include instruction on how to request, read, and analyze call detail records from cellular providers; and how to plot cellular site locations to determine the approximate position of a suspect during a given period. No special hardware or software is required. However, this course focuses heavily on analysis; as such, a strong working knowledge of Microsoft Excel is highly recommended. Students are provided with a free copy of NW3Cs PerpHound tool, which assists in the plotting of call detail record locations.

*Cellular technology. Land-line and cellular networks. Types and generations of cell phones. Cell site design and its implications for law enforcement.
*Analysis of call detail records. Request information from service providers. Convert records into a useful format. *Merge two related spreadsheets. Read and analyze using filters, sorting, and pivot tables. Plot location information.
*Hands-on experience. Hands-on experience with NW3Cs free software tool PerpHound and Microsoft Excel to analyze various types of records that are available from cellular providers.

This course provides training on digital forensics for video, specifically targeting common file formats rather than proprietary video encodings or delivery methods. It aims to prepare investigators to answer critical questions about the file and ensure key evidence is not overlooked. This training is designed to support investigations by providing the necessary expertise to handle the complexities of video evidence in the digital age, addressing possible pitfalls including deepfakes, manipulated video, and potential overlooked evidence.

Key concepts covered in this course include:
Digital video file creation
Tool and result verification
Metadata and parsing
Image classification
Hash value comparison
Image/video classification and reporting results