This story is a class assignment in JN 325, a class on writing across media (Radio, TV, Web,) taught by Dr. George Daniels and APR news director Pat Duggins. The students are coached by Duggins, APR assistant news director Stan Ingold, and Morning Edition host Alex AuBuchon.
Headline: UA Students Help Fight Cyber Crime
Script: UA Crime Lab/ Katie Bedrich
October 21, 2015
Texting. Snapchat. Emails. We use any number of electronic devices throughout the day, and so do criminals. Katie Bedrich tells us how students at the University of Alabama are joining in the fight against cyber crime.
With crimes like hacking, fraud, child pornography, and many others taking place every minute, there’s a new approach to analyzing digital evidence: with the help of college students. Lt. Dennis McMillan of the University of Alabama Police Department says he uses student interns to help process digital forensics. He created the Joint Electronic Crimes Task Force in 2014 for that very reason.
“As far as the culture that we’ve built around electronics, almost every crime can have some electronic aspect.”
At the new digital forensics lab on UA’s campus, interns shadow local law enforcement officers. Devin Stevens, a senior at UA, got to learn about the software used to process cyber evidence from real cases.
“Being able to go in and get that hands on, personal experience with this new technology, all these different agencies, it was just a great opportunity that couldn’t be passed on.”
I’m Katie Bedrich. APR News in Tuscaloosa.