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."