IFCI – What’s in a Name?
IFCI, pronounced “if-see”, is the acronym for International Fraternity of Cybercrime Investigators; but where did this name come from? What were its antecedents? What is real meaning of IFCI? Read more for the answer to these questions.
International
Cybercriminals do not respect national borders; it is as easy to fleece an American of their finances and online identity as it is an Australian or Russian citizen and all in a brief morning of criminal labor, without leaving one’s home. Our response to this crime must understand and respect the basic international nature of the cybercrime epidemic. IFCI training shows many of the ways cybercriminals hide behind Internet anonymization and methods to pursue cybercriminals across international borders.
Fraternity
Google offers 2 definitions of fraternity, both are equally applicable to IFCI. They are:
noun
1. A group of people organized for a joint purpose
2. The state or feeling of friendship and mutual support within a group
IFCI’s membership is composed of individuals dedicated to battling cybercrime. We have come together under this common purpose and strive to both teach and learn the most effective, cutting edge techniques to investigate modern cybercriminals. Additionally, we recognize that we cannot tackle this problem as individuals; we must provide each other mutual support and work together. Thus, both definitions of fraternity capture the spirit of IFCI. Like the Fraternal Order of Police, the word fraternity is in no way gender specific. All people interested in learning or teaching cybercrime investigation are welcome to join our ranks.
Cybercrime
Studying computer forensics by itself is a dated approach to cybercrime investigation. Students should learn how technical forensic findings can be used to identify and pursue attackers. Students should learn about identifying and analyzing malicious code, mobile devices, data exfiltration, penetration testing, and cyber law. All of these techniques will serve an investigator well, whether a federal agent investigating criminals or a system administrator securing a corporate network. This is why IFCI does not focus on computer forensics alone, our goal is to provide a complete education that will equip students to investigate all aspects of modern cybercrime.
Investigation
IFCI’s goal is to teach more than just identifying indicators of compromise or new IDS rules. Make no mistake, this is an essential step in the IFCI process but we are interested in going deeper. We wish to investigate, not just analyze. Investigation is at the core of IFCI’s identity.
