Scranton University Joins Forces with DA to Battle Cyber Threats

Summary

• Partnership Formed: The University of Scranton is teaming up with the Lackawanna County District Attorney’s Office on cybercrime work.
• Internships: Students will intern at the DA’s office through a new Crime Analysis and Investigation Program.
• Interdisciplinary Education: Students gain practical experience while helping local investigators.
• New Labs: A new campus building will add cyber forensics and cyber-attack simulation labs.
• Strengthening Community Defense: The program aims to strengthen local cybercrime investigations.

A new partnership against cybercrime

The University of Scranton and the Lackawanna County District Attorney’s Office have signed an agreement creating the Crime Analysis and Investigation Program. Student interns, guided by faculty, will work alongside the DA’s staff to investigate cybercrimes and analyze crime data.

The program starts in the fall 2025 semester with room for up to 15 students at a time. That same fall, the university’s criminal justice and cybersecurity department moves into Weiss Hall, a new building with labs for cyber-attack simulation and cyber forensics.

Learning by doing

The internships are open to majors in criminal justice, cybercrime and homeland security, or sociology. They build on projects students and faculty have done with the DA’s office since 2017 through the university’s Center for the Analysis and Prevention of Crime.

Michael Jenkins, professor and chair of the university’s Department of Criminal Justice, Cybersecurity and Sociology, said earlier projects with the DA’s office have provided “students with the valuable opportunity to put into practice concepts and theories learned in their coursework.”

Equipment and training

The new labs in Weiss Hall will be equipped with modern technology and can also be used to train local practitioners, not only students.

That gives local law enforcement a place to build digital investigation skills without each agency buying its own equipment.

Stronger local defense

The partnership adds investigative help for a county prosecutor’s office. Students get real casework before they graduate, as unpaid volunteers rather than county employees.

“By teaming up with the University, we’re not only strengthening our ability to investigate and prosecute cybercrimes, but we’re also creating a talent pipeline of highly-trained professionals ready to take on the digital threats of tomorrow,” said Lackawanna County District Attorney Brian Gallagher.

What to watch

Watch how many students join the first round in the fall and what kinds of cases they help with.

Other universities and prosecutors could copy the model. It costs the county little.

Fred Templeton, CISA, CASP, SEC+

Fred Templeton is a practicing Information Systems Auditor in the Washington DC area. Fred works as a government contractor and uses his skills in cyber security to make our country's information systems safer from cyber threats. Fred holds a master's degree in cybersecurity and is currently working on his PHD in Information Systems.