Inside the DEA, DEA Programs, Computer Forensics Program

The Computer Forensics Program (CFP) applies advanced computer technology and specialized seizure and evidence handling techniques to retrieve information of potential probative value that is either stored or transmitted in binary form.

Similar to many legitimate business people, drug traffickers rely on computers and a variety of digital storage devices to store and transmit information. Information recovered from digital devices seized in drug cases typically include: Bank account numbers, names and addresses of associates, databases of assets and financial activity, sales and other business records; grid coordinates of clandestine landing strips; recipes for methamphetamine manufacture, e-mail and other incriminating correspondence. Law enforcement routinely encounters and seizes home computers, laptops, computer network servers, personal digital assistants, and other forms of magnetic media in every conceivable size and format.

These items, when seized, are forwarded to the CFP for duplication and extraction of information in such a way as to preserve the integrity of the evidence in a court-admissible manner. Other technical services available from the CFP include password removal, recovery of erased files, search of disk drives or diskettes for specific names or phrases, removal of viruses, in-place computer duplication, and expert witness testimony.

The CFP was established in October 1994, and is currently located in Lorton, Virginia, as part of the Special Testing and Research Laboratory. Over the last nine years, the number of cases and computer submissions have increased by approximately 30 percent each year. In FY 2001, the program received 214 computers, 22 electronic organizers, and thousands of diskettes for examination.

The Office of Forensic Sciences also publishes and disseminates a newsletter entitled "Microgram" to more than 1,366 federal, state, local and foreign laboratories and law enforcement organizations. The purpose of this publication is to facilitate information sharing among forensic scientists, intelligence analysts, and law enforcement officials. The newsletter provides laboratories with updated information on a variety of material about drugs and general interest topics in the forensic science community. These include intelligence briefs, methods of analysis, selected references, computer related applications, Internet web sites, safety alerts, and other items of interest.