Foundational Digital Practitioner

Date: Tuesday, June 03, 2025 | 08:00 AM to 04:30 PM

Jersey City-Newark

Urban Area Security Initiative

1.Day One- Creating a Safe Online Digital Profile Attendees will be guided through creating an online profile that will allow them to passively navigate media, social media, blogs, and other deep web platforms. Adherence to all local laws and regulations will be reviewed and reinforced to ensure that each online researcher will be a good steward of their tools.

2.Day Two- Foundations of Online Research Utilizing the tools obtained in day one, attendees will learn foundational methods of online research to address their specific needs (counter narcotics, HT/ST, counterterrorism). Blocks of instruction will include tracking individuals and organizations through the use of email, phone, social media, media, address, and public records. Special emphasis will be placed on maintaining good digital hygiene while safely capturing data to use as investigative leads.

3.Day Three- Practical Application Employing the skills and methods used in day one and day two, attendees will be provided a live demonstration of tracking an individual and an organization of interest online. Upon completion, attendees will then be given a scenario and allotted time to conduct their own online investigation and present their findings to Hetherington Group instructors for validation.

Who Should Attend: Personnel engaged in online investigations that utilize OSINT tools and techniques. participants will learn to create a secure online digital profile, gain foundational online research techniques, and apply these skillsin practical scenarios. Upon completion, attendees will possess the tools and methods necessary to navigate media platforms, track individuals and organizations, and maintain good digital hygiene, ensuring they are effective and responsible practitioners of open-source intelligence.

Head Instructor: William “Will” Mechler

Will Mechler has been a Law Enforcement Officer since 2008. His career started at a small agency of 25 where he spent 5 years. Will then took a job with a large metropolitan department with over 1,500 officers. During his tenure Will served in many different capacities. After creating an online Officer Safety program (offering to help and conceal PAI on Officers and their families), he was offered a role in the department's Cyber Crimes Unit. While assigned there, Will would also handle the occasional Network Intrusion investigations as well as digital forensics. Within the Cyber Crimes Unit, Will was assigned to the Central Florida Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, where he spent just over three years. Will’s proactive approaches to locating and prosecuting online sex offenders led to numerous convictions serving life sentences. Will, a State of Florida Certified Law Enforcement Instructor, has also constructed and facilitated a number of courses focused against Open- Source Intelligence for Law Enforcement. In 2024 Will was awarded the OSMOSIS Associations Prestigious Educator of the year award.

For more information contact: gdemeter@nnjuasi.org