Past Conferences

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2022 White Hat Conference: June 1‑2, 2022

The Evolution of Illicit Crypto Use

Current Approaches and Future Challenges for Financial and Government Sectors

Over the years, the use of cryptocurrency has reportedly been prevalent in illicit darkweb marketplaces, especially in sex and drug trafficking incidents, ransomware, and various financial schemes. However, the existing capabilities of many law enforcement agencies are limited, and local and state law enforcement officers often lack the expertise to identify and acquire potential evidential artifacts from contemporary consumer technologies to support the elements of proof required in a successful prosecution. Focusing on the “Evolution of Illicit Crypto Use,” the Third Annual White Hat Conference was an effort to bring disruptive change to cybercrime investigation, exploring innovative techniques and global measures to bring about effective criminal justice policies and establish preventive measures— leading to more efficient investigations and successful prosecutions.

The 2022 White Hat Conference served to enhance current capacities of higher education to better serve students of cybersecurity, computer forensics, and digital evidence, leading to improved cybercrime investigations and successful prosecutions. Over the two days of morning and afternoon sessions, subject matter experts shared their expertise on emerging technologies, laws, and policies—while highlighting the challenges faced by law enforcement. Furthermore, the conference hosted a job fair to assist students with internship opportunities within the areas of computer forensics and digital evidence. This helped establish a corroborative approach that can further promote the development and implementation of internship/co-op programs.

Hosted by Boston University’s Metropolitan College (MET) Criminal Justice Graduate Programs in collaboration with Utica College and the Center for Cybercrime Investigation & Cybersecurity, the 2022 White Hat Conference was made possible by a grant from the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), awarded to MET professors Lou Chitkushev and Kyung-shick Choi.

2021 White Hat Conference: June 1‑2, 2021

The Future of Cybercrime and Its Challenges

Innovative Solutions Against Cybercrime

The Second Annual White Hat Conference took place virtually on June 1 & 2, 2021, and was hosted by Boston University Metropolitan College’s Criminal Justice Graduate Programs and the Center for Cybercrime Investigation and Cybersecurity. The theme of this year’s International White Hat Conference was, “The Future of Cybercrime and Its Challenges: Innovative Solutions Against Cybercrime.” During this year’s virtual conference discussed important drivers and disrupters of change in cybercrime and addressed the importance of technology-related issues in this area, in particular the global challenges related to developing effective criminal justice policies and/or preventive measures against cybercrime.

The growth of digital and information technology has given rise to cybercrime incidents, as seen in the recent cases of security breaches, identity theft, digital fraud, online drug-trafficking, cyberbullying, and online interpersonal crimes among many others. Unfortunately, the current capabilities of many law enforcement agencies are limited despite a heightened level of awareness and concern on the role of recent technology in facilitating online victimization. Cybercrime requires a fresh response from law enforcement officers trained in both cybercriminal behavior and information technologies. However, such training is not yet commonplace in the global community.

The first White Hat Conference, held in Bogota, Colombia in 2019, was facilitated to promote effective cybercrime investigation training, with presenters sharing their practical knowledge around cybercrime profiling, early cybersecurity education, ethics, hacking, Internet fraud, darknet investigation, cyber-incident response, and the need for AI tracking devices to monitor suspicious online activity. During this collaborative space, 12 international teams joined the Cybercrime Investigation Competition to solve complicated cybercrime cases. Students are welcome to participate in the competition/poster session and join the internship for assisting the conference.

The U.S. Department of Justice has awarded grant funding to Boston University Metropolitan College’s Cybercrime Investigation & Cybersecurity program, and the International White Hat Conference. The Cybercrime Investigation Competition and Student Research Paper Awards are a part of this larger grant project.

The International White Hat Conference program is a foundational effort that serves to enhance current capacities of higher education to better serve students in the area of cybersecurity, computer forensics and digital evidence, leading to improved cybercrime investigations and successful prosecutions. Furthermore, this conference will assist us in providing students with internship opportunities within the areas of computer forensics and digital evidence through a job fair. This will help to establish a collaborative approach that can further promote the development and implementation of internship/co-op programs.