Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Computer Education Program trains the next cyber sleuths

Photos and story by James Hill

CEP Technology Specialist Larry Reaney

The illegal files on the computer hard drive have been deleted. The suspect is in the clear, right? Think again.

This isn’t “CSI: Miami” but the Computer Education Program’snon-credit IT security and forensics training. The new classes are a response to the growing demand for computer technology skills across all industries. The courses are taught by respected expert Steve Hailey, who is president and CEO of Cyber Security Institute.

“It’s a very new industry and forensic experts are very much in demand,” said Larry Reaney, technology specialist with the program. “It’s a helpful tool and knowledge to have in a company and corporate structure. There is huge demand and there aren’t enough experts to fill it.”

CEP had a waiting list of 56 people for classes during winter term. Maybe it’s because many certified security experts can testify in court cases about hard drives they investigate and be paid $75 to $300 an hour for their time.

Reaney, a native of Warren, Ore., says the CEP program provides classes and computer forensics classes to get IT folks certified for security work on servers, networks and computers. Reaney knows because he has been through the program himself. In 1999, he suffered an accident after 32 years in construction management and was forced to change careers. He had fallen and shattered his heel, and three years later after several surgeries he was ready for a new career.

Interest began in computers while producing the television show “Family Video Guide,” syndicated in 10 states, Reaney took certificate classes through the Computer Education Program, earned an internship and in 2000 was hired to be a network technician for the program. Later, he took the Microsoft certification and network security classes.

“It can help find out if somebody has been looking at pornography, corporate espionage or things that one shouldn’t be doing while at work as well as retrieve files and folders that have been deleted,” he said. “We can retrieve almost anything.”

There are four components to the security training and forensics program:

There is CompTIA Security+ Certification tests for security knowledge mastery of an individual with two years on-the-job networking experience, with emphasis on security like communication and infrastructure security, cryptography and external attacks.

The one-day Computer Forensics Fundamentals course is designed for anyone interested in learning more about computer forensics and forensic computing. Topics include data storage, sources of data and evidence, computer forensics procedures, computer forensics experts and preparing to testify.

Computer Forensic Core Competencies: Five-Day Training covers how to acquire and interpret digital evidence and then report findings. Forensics experts deal with crimes that have a digital component (i.e. credit card fraud, identity theft, child pornography, and money laundering). It is also critical that forensics experts know hardware details as well as be able to testify in trials or give depositions.

Reaney along with computer tech specialists Dave Royer, Simon Duvall and Larry Holmberg know all about these courses. They help manage servers, classroom and staff computers at three different sites at PCC (Southeast Center, Central WTC and Washington County WTC). They are products of the Computer Education Programs and utilize its training everyday in maintaining the system. For example, Holmberg retrieved lost e-mail files that were accidentally deleted, but was able to retrieve them thanks to techniques taught in the courses.

“There are many things we do,” Reaney said. “We are on the cutting edge and use what we teach. Through a lot of help and support from school and in the classes, I learned a great new career. It put me where I am today. I believed in options and not putting all of your eggs into one basket.”

“I wish I had fallen 10 years earlier,” he chuckled. “I really enjoy what I’m doing at PCC.”

Degree programs:

Computer Information Systems, Computer Science Transfer, Computer Applications and Office Systems

Non-credit computer classes:

Computer Education Program (featured above), Community Education