What is NW3C? National White Collar Crime Center | Digital Forensics

NW3C stands for the National White Collar Crime Center, an organization that is committed to helping educate law enforcement professionals on a variety of relevant topics. The organization based in Richmond, Virginia has over 70,000 members worldwide and was founded in 1987. 

Who should join NW3C? 

Serving law enforcement, the organization "provides support to federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies engaged in the prevention, investigation and prosecution of financial, intelligence, cyber and high-tech crime through training." 

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the organization focused on in-person training classes as well as online training, however, during the pandemic, much of the learning has moved online with webinars and training for police, sheriffs, constables, prosecutors and judges. 

How is NW3C funded? 

NW3C receives grant funding from a variety of U.S. federal agencies and they use the funding to provide training and investigative services to their members. 

What type of Training does NW3C offer? 

The organization is regularly updating their course catalog to include training on a variety of law enforcement topics such as: 

• Financial and Economic Crime - including courses such as Financial Crimes Against Seniors (FCSS), Financial Investigations Practical Skills (FIPS), Financial Records Investigative Skills (FRIS), Money Laundering and Commingling (MLC), etc. 
• Cybercrime - including classes such as Advanced Digital Forensic Analysis (ADFA) for Mac, Mobile, and Windows, Basic Cyber Investigations, Cellular Records Analysis, Digital Footprints (BCI-DF), Dark Web & Open Source Intelligence (BCI-DW/OSINT), Intermediate Cyber Investigations: Virtual Currency (ICAC-ICI-VC), Automated Digital Forensic Tools (ICAC-IDFA-AFT), SQLite Primer (IDFA-SQLite), etc. 
• Intelligence Analysis - including courses such as Foundations of Intelligence Analysis Training (FIAT), Introduction to Link Analysis (ILA) and Intelligence Writing and Briefing (IWAB)
• Cyber Investigations & Digital Forensics - Search Warrants and Digital Evidence, First Responders and Digital Evidence, Introduction to Previewing, Online Undercover, Cyberstalking, Encryption, Introducing Digital Evidence in Court, etc. 

NW3C Investigative Resources 

In addition to training, NW3C is respected for the variety of resources and law enforcement tools the organization provides. Members can leverage investigative support, legal templates, investigative templates, INFOSEC / OPSEC / PERSEC resources, cryptocurrency policy documents for seizing assets and Bitcoin investigative field guides among other things.

NW3C Certifications 

Members can take advantage of a number of certifications that are open to law enforcement professionals as well as certain members of the private sector. These include:

• Certified Cyber Crime Investigator
• Certified Cyber Crime Examiner
• Certified Economic Crime Forensic Examiner (CECFE)

What are the benefits of NW3C?

NW3C offers a wide variety of benefits to members including access to a wide variety of free templates and professional content, access to free best practices webinars, digital forensic Capture the Flag (CTF) contests, online training and professional certifications, as well as discounts on law enforcement specific products and services. 

If you're already a member of NW3C, please talk to your ADF Solutions account manager to get a free trial of ADF digital forensic tools to help you speed your investigations. 

Watch the webinar: Solving Fraud & Economic Crimes with ADF digital forensic tools.