5 Free (or Low-Cost) Tech Training Resources
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GUEST BLOGGER
Colin May, CFE
Adjunct Professor, Stevenson University
A couple months ago, I authored a blog post called “Five Resources to Up Your Tech Game in 2020.” As I mentioned in the first post, we as fraud examiners need to consider adding more technology knowledge to our fraud-fighting toolkit as we adapt to the pace of technological change and development.
So, to continue with that theme, let’s explore some free or low-cost training opportunities to help fraud examiners build their capacity. It should be noted that the inclusion of any site is not an endorsement, but rather a suggestion for further review based on individual circumstances.
1. SANS Institute webinars
The SANS Institute was formed in 1989 as a training and certification provider for the information security sector. Currently, SANS offers dozens of paid courses across a variety of cyber and IT security related disciplines. They also offer free webinars, which can be very useful for small, digestible technical topics or wide-ranging surveys of key concepts. Some are a little (or a lot) more technical than others, but once you register for a webinar, they are all archived and can be viewed multiple times as needed. Also, they put out a free e-newsletter, SANS Newsbites, that aggregates and provides commentary on major cyber issues, including hacks and cybersecurity issues, which is very useful and timely.
2. Federal Virtual Training Environment (FedVTE)
Primarily geared toward supporting federal, state, local, tribal or territorial government employees, federal contractors or U.S. military veterans who are seeking to increase their IT and technical skill set, FedVTE does have a limited number of publicly available courses that do not require a login. Interestingly, the courses include three that would certainly be useful for a fraud examiner, specifically:
101 Critical Infrastructure Protection for the Public
Cryptocurrency for Law Enforcement for the Public
Cyber Supply Chain Risk Management for the Public
Additionally, there is also a lengthy list of resources and course providers, including educational institutions, available from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) National Initiative for Cybersecurity Careers and Studies (NICCS) Education and Training Catalog.
3. Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs)
MOOCs are free or significantly reduced tuition online courses, usually self-paced and available on demand that are open for anyone to enroll. Many high-profile colleges and universities have started to put some or many of their courses online in this format. Some of the most popular portals for these courses are:
Some may charge a fee if you want to obtain a certificate of completion. There are also full certificate programs from technology providers like Microsoft and others; again, the prices may range depending on the length and depth. The courses range from beginner to advanced, so there is almost always something for everyone.
4. Specialty providers
Many employers offer skill-based courses for their employees through providers such as SkillSoft. Additionally, platforms such as LinkedIn Learning have their own training and development component as well. Specialty providers like Codecademy.com focus on specific skill sets. Explore local community colleges for both on-site and online tech courses as well as local libraries, who often include similar training options in their online portfolios. Finally, look at possible options sponsored by state and local economic development or employment training agencies.
5. Law enforcement options
Law enforcement officers, analysts and employees have several more options. In addition to on-site training from the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (run by the DHS) and National Computer Forensics Institute (run by the U.S. Secret Service), the NWC3 has a large amount of courses and webinars that discuss a wide array of technology crime and electronic evidence issues. SEARCH, The National Consortium for Justice Information and Statistics, also has a large assortment of law enforcement–specific technology and digital forensics training options, as well as valuable resources for collecting, preserving and processing evidence from technology providers.
Technology is changing in such a rapid fashion that as fraud examiners we need to at least try to keep pace with a general understanding of the underlying concepts. With fraudsters using new technologies and innovations to work old scams, we too must be able to see the opportunities that technology presents, both in preventing fraud, responding to it, and recovering evidence, assets, and information. With this as a starting point, we can go further in our own studies and enhance our “think TECH” mindset throughout 2020 and beyond.
Colin May, CFE, is an Adjunct Professor of Forensic Studies and Criminal Justice at Stevenson University in Owings Mills, Md. For over 10 years, he was a Special Agent with the U.S. Government. He is a Certified Fraud Examiner and a Certified Cyber Crime Examiner (charter member); He may be reached at cmay3231@stevenson.edu. The views expressed in this article are the author’s own.
