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Internet of Things

Award Information

Award #
15PBJA-21-GK-03996-INTE
Funding Category
Competitive Discretionary
Location
Congressional District
Status
Open
Funding First Awarded
2021
Total funding (to date)
$883,015

Description of original award (Fiscal Year 2021, $297,967)

Purdue University proposes creating and delivering training and technical assistance (TTA) program related to data of evidentiary value collected by IoT devices, particularly wearable fitness devices and smartwatches, which are transmitted and stored in the cloud.  Purdue will develop and deliver the TTA program in partnership with NW3C, the National White Collar Crime Center.  This project was specifically selected because, while there is limited information and TTA available to practitioners related to IoT evidence stored client-side (on the devices), there is an unmet need for TTA on server-side evidence stored in the cloud. 

            The Purdue team will examine data collected by Fitbit, Garmin, Tic Watch, and Apple Watch following the National Institute of Standards and Technology standards.  The Purdue team will collaboratively work with the NW3C team for this project to ensure that it has practical application for criminal justice practitioners.

            The NW3C and Purdue teams will work together to create TTA materials and deliverables based on Purdue’s academically, scientifically, legally, and operationally sound findings.  The training will be delivered via in-person, live online, and webinar modalities. Technical assistance will include creating and delivering IoT legal templates, information on fitness devices and their capabilities, IoT investigative guides, and model fitness device courtroom exhibits, along with a method for practitioners to request ad hoc technical assistance easily.

            NW3C and Purdue will jointly develop two live webinars for criminal justice professionals, one targetting the understanding and collecting fitness device evidence, and the other focused on explaining wearable device evidence and using it in court. Both webinars will be delivered via the existing NW3C learning management platform and offered on-demand as long as relevant following live delivery to ensure sustainability.  The teams will also deliver a 90-minute live question and answer webinar with Purdue and NW3C SMEs. Moreover, the TTA program will include online databases and resources for IoT device capabilities/vulnerabilities awareness framework and related training modules executed with all sample presentations and exhibits. All technical assistance resources will be hosted on the existing secure portal maintained by NW3C and currently accessible to over 114,000 U.S. criminal justice practitioners.

            Purdue and NW3C have a 12-year history of working together to develop and implement TTA programs.  Purdue University is confident that, in partnership with NW3C, it has an unparalleled ability to create and implement this national, integrated, and collaborative TTA program in support of criminal investigators, digital forensic examiners, and prosecutors encountering IoT evidence.

Date Created: December 6, 2021