This fifth episode in the National Institute of Justice's (NIJ's) Just Science podcast series interviews Matt Ruddell of Florida International University (FIU) about his team's efforts to develop forensic education and training programs on digital evidence at FIU.
Background information for the interview indicates that the National Forensic Science Technology Center at FIU offers a variety of courses, consulting, and training for forensic scientists. Matt Ruddell and the rest of the FIU faculty are involved in developing accessible programs for law enforcement, military personnel, and undergraduate students. Ruddell first discusses his background in digital forensics, which extends back approximately 20 years, when it was called computer forensics. He comments briefly on how technology has created an explosion of digital devices that store various types of digital data, much of which can be encrypted by choice or automatically. Such developments have led to the need for the expansion and updating of instruction in digital forensics. The featured part of the interview is a discussion of the development of digital forensics courses at FIU and his experience in the university system. The focus is on a curriculum of four online courses for undergraduate engineering students enrolled in FIU. He describes the course material relevant to digital forensics. He also discusses plans to offer online courses in a professional development series that will be available to non-students.