Vol. 3, No. 1
Vol. 3, No. 1
February 2010
The Center for Cyberspace Research (CCR), established in March 2002, conducts
defense-focused research at the Master’s and PhD levels. The CCR is forward-
looking and responsive to the changing educational and research needs of the
Air Force, the Department of Defense, and the federal government. The CCR
faculty teaches and performs research focusing on understanding and developing
advanced cyber-related theories and technologies. These theory and technology
advancements have included efforts in network intrusion detection and avoidance,
insider threat mitigation, cyberspace situational awareness, network visualization,
software protection, and anti-tamper technologies development. On June 19,
2008 AFIT was designated by the SECAF and CSAF as the Air Force Cyberspace
Technical Center of Excellence.
CENTER FOR CYBERSPACE RESEARCH
Director: Dr. Richard Raines; Deputy Director: Colonel Harold Arata
Associate Director: Dr. Rusty Baldwin
Program Coordinator: Angela Michael
Questions,concerns,feedback,emailangela.michael.ctr@at.edu
In this issue :
February 2010
AFIT CCR Team Win Digital Forensics Challenge
CCR News is published by the Center for Cyberspace Research.
All material contained herein reects the opinions of the authors and
editors and does not necessarily reect U.S. Air Force or AFIT policy.
AFIT CCR Team Wins Digital Forensics
Challenge
CCR Students participate in Bulwark
Defender 2009
Faculty Focus: LtCol Jeff Humphries
Student Highlight: Major Sherry Murphy
AFIT CCR Enlisted Graduates: SMsgt
Wabiszewski, SMsgt Woele
A team of four Cyber Operations
graduate students from the Air Force
Institute of Technology’s Center for
Cyberspace Research combined their
cyber skills and interests in digital
forensics to eld a winning team in
the annual DoD Cyber Crime Center
(DC3) Challenge for 2009. The DC3
Challenge is a call to the digital
forensics community to pioneer new
investigative tools, techniques and
methodologies. Points are awarded
based on the complexity of what the
examiner normally encounters and has
to adjust for, extract, or scrutinize in
an analysis, of those le types for the
examination problems. This highly
competitive and challenging event had
1153 teams requesting entries. Only
44 teams completed the challenge, 34
U.S. and 10 international teams from
commercial, government, civilian,
military, and academic institutions
to highlight tools, techniques, and
procedures that address the most
troubling issues DC3 faces. AFIT’s
winning team has won a trip to the
2010 DoD Cyber Crime Conference
where they will be recognized at an
awards presentation and receive a
plaque.
This year’s challenge was a new
‘twist’ from previous years, presenting
the participants a mock-up of what
an actual examiner might face in a
Digital Forensics Lab. This made the
results much more complicated than in
prior DC3 Challenge years. In the end,
AFIT’s CCR team consisting of Major
John Borowski, Mr. Curtis Barnard,
Mr. Mitchell Hirschfeld, and Mr. Justin
Myers took the U.S. Division trophy
while placing second overall in the
competition that included international
teams. Dr. Gilbert Peterson and Maj
Eric Trias, Ph.D. served as faculty
mentors/advisors for the team. Our
students represented the Air Force and
CCR in a superb manner. Challenges
such as these demonstrate the value of
graduate education and research and
highlight the talents the Air Force is
developing in support of the Air Force
cyber mission.
Three out of the four members
of the team are civilian graduate
fellowship recipients of the National
Science Foundation and Department
of Homeland Security CyberCorps
scholarship. This fellowship is
awarded annually to qualied and
talented students seeking graduate
degrees in Cyber Operations and
closely related elds. This fellowship
covers the student’s tuition, books,
and offers a $25,000 stipend a year.
For additional information please visit
the Center for Cyberspace Research’s
website at http://www.at.edu/ccr/.
DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE
AIR FORCE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
CENTER FOR CYBERSPACE RESEARCH
AFIT/ENG
2950 HOBSON WAY
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AFB OH 45433-7765
OFFICIAL BUSINESS
