Taking a byte out of crime...
Although various technological advances in today’s world have improved our overall quality of life, they have also brought about the advent of technology-based crime — perhaps the fastest growing type of criminal offense in history. 

From terrorists to child pornographers, criminals across the board have begun using sophisticated encryption techniques to conceal incriminating data and communications.  Unfortunately, most law enforcement agencies, especially at the state and local level, lack the capacity to handle such evidence.  These agencies are typically under-funded and do not possess the computational resources or expertise required to deal with encrypted files.  Therefore, much of the evidence contained on criminals’ computers remains untouched.

A Collaborative Effort
The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) recently provided funding to the West Virginia High Technology Consortium (WVHTC) Foundation’s Global Grid Exchange® (G2EX) for the Locksmith Decryption initiative. Through this program, G2EX, Parabon® Computation, Inc., AccessData® Corporation and Fairmont State University have worked together to provide law enforcement the necessary tools to decipher encrypted evidence.   

Distributing the Work
Many law enforcement agencies have very few computers in their offices or headquarters.  These resources are typically consumed by administrative tasks.  An encrypted file may take days or weeks to be “cracked” on a single computer.  It would be impractical to devote these scarce resources to decrypting electronic evidence.  The Locksmith Decryption initiative significantly reduces the processing time required to decrypt a file by leveraging the massive processing capability of G2EX.  In a recent demonstration, a five character password that would have taken over 100 days to crack on a single computer was cracked in 14 minutes through G2EX. 

Easy Access
The Locksmith Decryption initiative will provide law enforcement officials the ability to submit encrypted files found on criminals’ computers via a web interface.  The significance of this feature is far reaching.  Law enforcement agencies will only require a single computer with an Internet connection to access this powerful decryption service. 

Staying Ahead of the Criminal Mind
Unfortunately, many criminal organizations have unlimited financial resources giving them access to the most advanced technologies available while most law enforcement agencies are severely under-funded.  The Locksmith Decryption initiative will put law enforcement on a level playing field with criminals by providing them an extremely cost-effective, yet exceptionally potent decryption capability.