Local News
AT&T awards UCO $1 million grant for new lab
EDMOND — As technology continues to develop, cyber crime continues to rise and law enforcers need more resources to process digitalevidence.
The AT&T Foundation recognized this need and awarded the University of Central Oklahoma a $1 million grant to include the AT&T Digital Evidence and Cyber Security Lab as part of the UCO Forensic Science Institute, which will be completed August 2009.
The grant will be awarded in $250,000 installments during the next four years and will be used to purchase digital forensics software and equipment, eight examiner lab stations and other equipment.
“AT&T supports a lot of universities and colleges because we believe in education and what it can do for society,” said Don Cain, AT&T Oklahoma president.
W. Roger Webb, UCO president, said cyber crime has taken crime to the next level as people use digital media for cyber hacking, stalking, terrorism and sex crimes.
Webb said the new lab will serve federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.
“What AT&T has provided is a one-of-a-kind entity,” said Dwight Adams, UCO forensic science director.
Adams said the lab will allow a variety of law enforcement agencies to work together in a task force approach. He said digital evidence can be lifted from cell phones, computers and even pike passes.
“Criminals are getting sophisticated,” Adams said.
He said steganography allows people to hide images or evidence in other images. The lab will provide law enforcers with the resources and equipment they need to find the hidden evidence in a rapid way.
Adams said the lab will employ eight qualified digital evidence examiners, a supervisor and a support assistant.
Dee Cordry, OSBI computer crimes, said the Oklahoma City and Edmond Police Departments, OSBI and the Attorney General’s office all have expressed interest in having employees work in the lab. He said OSBI hopes to have two or three agents working full-time.
“Our goal is to move our computer crime unit from Oklahoma City and be here at UCO full-time,” Cordry said. “The great thing is we’re all there together and can collaborate and share technologies and work as a team.”
He said some people specialize in lifting digital evidence from cell phones, while others specialize in recovering electronic mail.
The OSBI computer crime unit has worked 100 cases a year for the past two years, Cordry said. He said most of these cases involved child exploitation and pornography.
Cordry said examples of the equipment they will have in the lab include more updated and modern devices that preserve the integrity of evidence.
“When we take a hard drive we want to prevent writing on it,” he said.
Write blocking devices allow them to copy and read the evidence without writing over it.
Ground is expected to break on the UCO Forensics Institute in April. The institute also will focus on DNA and trace evidence research, analytical chemistry research, evidence recovery and counter-terrorism.
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Swine Week breaks record
Wild hugging and cheering rippled through the Memorial High School student body Friday afternoon when the Swine Week announcement was made that they are true record-breakers.
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State reviews ME’s office finances
The State Auditor and Inspector’s Office this week told House leadership that lack of planning and expecting annual increases in state funding helped land the State Medical Examiner’s Office in a precarious financial position, according to information obtained by The Edmond Sun.
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Lawmakers write governor, protest parole
Two state lawmakers are urging Gov. Brad Henry to deny parole for an inmate convicted in the murder of an Edmond man, calling him a continuing threat to Oklahomans.
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3-13 Calendar: Edmond senior center
Monday
1 p.m.: *Beginning tap
2:15 p.m.: *Jazzercise Lite -
3-13 Community: your news
Bureau encourages mail-back of census questionnaires saves taxpayer dollars
The 2010 Census is well under way, with the U.S. Census Bureau mailing 2010 Census questionnaires to about 120 million addresses nationwide. The questionnaires will arrive March 15-17. Residents are encouraged to complete the 10-question census form when it arrives and to return it in the accompanying pre-paid envelope as soon as possible. -
Edmond officer becomes part cop, part detective
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And because of her invaluable service to the Edmond Police Department, Officer Patricia DeMoss has been named the agency’s Officer of the Month for February.
Edmond Police Officer Nathan Fountain nominated DeMoss for the award, which involves voting by DeMoss’s fellow officers. -
A few facts about wills, advance directives
Q: What is a living will? Do I need one? What about a durable power of attorney?
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Elementary students raise $3,593 for charity
An area elementary school raised $3,593 that will give children clean drinking water where it does not otherwise exist.
Students at Deer Creek’s Prairie Vale Elementary School raised the money, which will be donated to WaterIsLife.com, an Edmond charity that gives water filters to children in developing countries.
The small, portable filters hang around the neck of a child and provide pure water for one year. Among other places, they are supplying clean water in Haiti, a nation recovering from the devastating earthquake that leveled much of the capital city. -
Memorial student produces CD for Swine Week
Edmond Memorial High School senior Bryce Merritt recorded his third CD this year and donated 100 percent of his proceeds to Swine Week, the annual fundraiser the high school put on this week.
The school chose to raise money this year for the Jimmy Everest Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders in Children at the OU Medical Center.
Merritt has been singing since he was young, and he began performing at the Oklahoma Opry in Oklahoma City at age 10. Since then, he has performed at weddings and opened for musicians like Billy Currington and Craig Morgan at Frontier City. - More Local News Headlines
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