Department of Justice

Your watch knows what you did last summer

Nathan Kahl — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 17:36:08 +0000

Your watch knows what you did last summer Nathan Kahl Mon, 06/15/2026 - 13:36

A smartwatch sitting quietly on someone’s wrist may seem unremarkable. But in a criminal investigation, that device could become a witness.

91�� Cyber Security Engineering Associate Professor Umit Karabiyik helps law enforcement agencies across the country understand how data from everyday connected devices can provide critical evidence in criminal cases. Through a U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)–funded project, Karabiyik and researchers trained thousands of criminal justice professionals and provided technical assistance on cases involving everything from smartwatches and fitness trackers to smart home devices and medical technologies.

“We try to understand this Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem and extract data from these technologies for evidentiary purposes in courts, criminal investigations, and criminal litigation,” said Karabiyik.

The project, funded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, was first awarded in 2021 while Karabiyik was at Purdue University. Originally planned as a short-term effort, the grant was extended multiple times, allowing the team to continue responding to a growing challenge: helping investigators keep pace with the expansion of connected technologies in everyday life.

IoT devices include smartwatches, fitness trackers, smart appliances, home security systems, smart glasses, medical monitoring devices, and countless other products that collect and exchange data. “Law enforcement agencies need to understand what these technologies are, what the security issues are, what the privacy issues are, and most importantly, how to investigate them,” Karabiyik said.

That work often goes beyond research papers and conference presentations. Since the project began, Karabiyik’s team has trained more than 7,000 criminal justice professionals through conferences, webinars, and specialized workshops. They have also become a resource for investigators facing technical questions in active cases.

“We get phone calls from law enforcement agencies that say, ‘I’ve got this case, and I got stuck. What do I do?’” Karabiyik said.

One line of research focused on how devices within Apple’s ecosystem communicate with one another. Karabiyik’s team discovered that Apple devices can collect identifying information about nearby Apple products even without direct interaction from users. The findings created new possibilities for investigators attempting to establish whether individuals or devices had been in proximity to one another.

After presenting the research, Karabiyik received inquiries from investigators working homicide and cold cases who wanted to know whether data from nearby Apple devices could help narrow the list of potential suspects. “These kinds of calls keep coming,” he said.

Geolocation data points generated by an iPhone alongside data from nearby WiFi access points. Despite iPhone location services being disabled, information from surrounding devices is still collected. Image provided.

As part of the project, Karabiyik and colleagues serve as a criminal IoT helpdesk, of sorts.

In one case, Karabiyik served as an expert witness in a murder trial where investigators examined data from a smartwatch worn by the defendant, who maintained she had been asleep during the time prosecutors alleged the crime occurred.

“We looked at the technology and proved that she was indeed sleeping,” Karabiyik said. “There were no steps taken, and her stress level was perfectly fine until she found the victim dead.” The defendant was ultimately found not guilty.

While much of the project focuses on digital forensics, Karabiyik’s research also examines the privacy and security risks associated with connected devices. His team has built databases of vulnerabilities and studied how data collected by consumer technologies is stored, shared, and potentially exposed.

He noted that his research influences his own personal use. “I’m very picky about what technologies I use,” he said. He avoids devices with microphones and cameras whenever possible, does not use voice assistants such as Alexa or Google Home, and is cautious about products that collect large amounts of personal data.

At the same time, he sees enormous value in connected technologies when they are used responsibly. “Unless you are a bad person, these technologies can be super helpful,” he said. “If something happens to me, I know these devices are going to tell law enforcement a lot of things.”

As connected devices continue to multiply, Karabiyik expects demand for digital forensic expertise to grow as well. The current project concludes later this year, but he is already pursuing new DOJ funding opportunities aimed at helping forensic examiners, law enforcement agencies, and criminal justice professionals navigate an increasingly connected world.

Check out "When Your Smartwatch Becomes a Witness," an episode of CEC's podcast In the Abstract.

Podcast episode transcript

Teresa Donnellan A smart watch sitting quietly on someone's wrist may seem unremarkable, but in a criminal investigation, that device could become a witness.

Welcome to In the Abstract, a research podcast from 91��'s College of Engineering and Computing. I'm Teresa Donnellan.

Umit Karabiyik There are so many new technologies that are coming in IoT became part of everyday life for every single one of us.

Teresa Donnellan 91�� Cyber Security Engineering Associate Professor Umit Karabiyik helps law enforcement agencies across the country understand how data from everyday connected devices can provide critical evidence in criminal cases.

Umit Karabiyik So try to understand this Internet of Things ecosystem and extract data from these technologies for the use of evidentiary purposes in courts— criminal, you know, litigations, criminal investigations. So they want to make sure, the law enforcement agencies and, in general, criminal justice professionals, they understand the technology, IoT technologies, and anything related to justice domain, with respect to IoT devices. Do they understand what the technology is? What are the security issues? What are the privacy issues? And more importantly, which is the majority part of it when they are found in criminal investigations, how to investigate these technologies, how to understand the data [that] reside on these devices generated by these devices and stored somewhere else sometimes.

Teresa Donnellan Through a U.S. Department of Justice funded project, Karabiyik and researchers trained thousands of criminal justice professionals and provided technical assistance on cases involving everything from smartwatches and fitness trackers to smart home devices and medical technologies.

Umit Karabiyik I work on Internet of Things technologies. Particularly, we focus on fitness trackers, smartwatches, smart appliances at homes, like meta glasses. You know, they record everything, watches, and Oura rings, you know, even we investigated some glucometers; we had one of our researchers, coincidentally, he was diabetic, he was using also glucometer. We investigated his data points and technology as well. Then what we do based on the research and products, we create trainings. And throughout the five years since twenty twenty one, we trained over seven thousand criminal justice professionals at more than thirty in-person trainings, and we did several online webinars so that we can answer questions. That's the technical training component of this, and then there is technical assistance.

Teresa Donnellan The project, funded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, was first awarded in 2021. Originally planned as a short term effort, the grant was extended multiple times, allowing the team to continue responding to a growing challenge: Helping investigators keep pace with the expansion of connected technologies in everyday life. They have also become a resource for investigators facing technical questions in active cases.

Umit Karabiyik We get phone calls from law enforcement agencies. They call us like, "Hey, I got this case." It could be a cold case, or it could be an ongoing case. "And I got stuck on this. What do I do?" So it's under the project, we actually provide technical assistance. We collaborate with the White Collar Crime Center. And you know, with this, you know, uh, partnership, they have connection to the tens of thousands of criminal justice professionals. So they reach out to them, and then they reach out to us as technical subject matter experts. And then I provide them, "Hey, you got to do this. You need to do that." or "You know, we don't have technology for this." Something like that.

Teresa Donnellan One line of research focused on how devices within Apple's ecosystem communicate with one another. Karabiyik's team discovered that Apple devices can collect identifying information about nearby Apple products, even without direct interaction from users. The findings created new possibilities for investigators attempting to establish whether individuals or devices had been in proximity to one another.

Umit Karabiyik We found that, especially [with] Apple ecosystem devices, they constantly share data with each other, even without the interaction of the users. They keep changing data with each other. So we give the example of this: like if there is any smart watch in a room, it knows all the other Apple devices in the room. What it means: It knows it basically collects the unique identifier about those devices. So then we give this scenario. We say, if there's an abduction of a child, and there's a suspect for this abduction, and you go to the suspect, say, well, have you seen this kid? Say, no, I've never seen this person. I've never, you know, in contact with this person. But the kid might have Apple Watch. And if we investigate that person's phone, we could find that that watch has been interacting with the phone.

Teresa Donnellan After presenting the research, Karibiyik received inquiries from investigators working homicide and cold cases who wanted to know whether data from nearby Apple devices could help narrow the list of potential suspects.

Umit Karabiyik Then when we brought this research findings four years ago, I got a phone call from Ohio FBI field office, said, "Oh, I got a cold case. This is exactly what happened. There is a dead body. And we, because of the CCTV cameras they had, that suspect was wearing an Apple Watch. And the the victim was the victim was actually having a iPhone." So the question was, would that iPhone have the killer's Apple Watch information? That was a cold case. Unfortunately, it was too old. At that time, this communication wasn't really happening. We couldn't solve that case.

Teresa Donnellan As part of the project, Karibiyik and colleagues serve as a criminal IoT help desk of sorts.

Umit Karabiyik Under this project, they reach out to NW3C, the White Collar Crime Center. We give them this hotline phone number, and then the, the NW3C contact reaches out to me depending on the question, because we have subcontracts from NW3C. They are experts in litigations and legal issues. Some of them are just reaching out saying like, "I have a, you know, IoT device. We investigated this. We found this evidence. Well, how are we going to put it into the legal context? How is this going to be admissible?" It's not really my case in that case, because I prove scientifically it's correct. So my co-pi from NW3C, he's the chief counsel of White Collar Crime Center. And he helps on that case when it's a technology problem. Like, "Hey, we found this device. How are we going to get data out of it?" I come into play.

Teresa Donnellan In one case, Karibiyik served as an expert witness in a murder trial, where investigators examined data from a smartwatch worn by the defendant.

Umit Karabiyik Because of this research, I actually worked on a case in Indiana. It was also a murder case. Um, a suspect was a wife. She was accused of killing her husband. Uh, and she was saying that he fell over the stairs and, um, and she was wearing an Apple Watch. She was wearing a Garmin watch, um, IoT device. And she said she was sleeping all night. And we were, you know, called to the case. Um, we were hired, and we looked at the technology, and we proved that she was indeed sleeping. There were no steps taken, and her stress level was perfectly fine until she found him dead. Um, at 4:34 a.m. in the morning. So we presented this to the court.

Teresa Donnellan The defendant was ultimately found not guilty. While much of the project focuses on digital forensics, Karabiyik's research also examines the privacy and security risks associated with connected devices.

Umit Karabiyik From the forensics part, I believe they serve a lot to us, unless you are a bad person. I'm not a bad person. So I believe these IoT technologies are super helpful for for if I'm killed, I know this device is going to tell a lot of things to the, you know, law enforcement about me and my killer. But I'm very picky about what technologies I use, because I also know these technologies have a lot of privacy concerns and security concerns.

Teresa Donnellan His team has built databases of vulnerabilities and studied how data collected by consumer technologies is stored, shared, and potentially exposed.

Umit Karabiyik So we created a database of vulnerabilities of these technologies [of] what are the security and privacy pitfalls as an individual, um, as a user of these technologies, like I am very picky. I'm very selective of using Chinese technologies because as we do the research, we know these technologies, like, for instance, indoor security cameras, they share data with the third parties and they store data in, you know, clouds, even though they don't have, you know, subscriptions. So these technologies are sometimes freaking me out, if I don't know their behaviors. So this is why, you know, we try to some of my research is privacy and security of IoT devices so that we identify and we just let the rest of the world know this technology collects this type of data. And in fact, maybe they sell your data. So from that perspective, I'm very selective of using certain technologies personally. And I suggest my friends and, you know, family members also like what to use, what not to use. And usually good technologies are more expensive. Technologies are secure, not always, most of the time, but cheaper products are very questionable ones.

Teresa Donnellan He avoids devices with microphones and cameras whenever possible, does not use voice assistants such as Alexa or Google Home, and is cautious about products that collect large amounts of personal data. At the same time, he sees enormous value in connected technologies when they are used responsibly. As connected devices continue to multiply, Karibiyik expects demand for digital forensic expertise to grow as well. The current project concludes later this year, but he is already pursuing new DOJ funding opportunities aimed at helping forensic examiners, law enforcement agencies, and criminal justice professionals navigate an increasingly connected world.

Thanks for listening to In the Abstract. For more information or to find out about graduate study opportunities, visit cec dot gmu dot edu.

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$1 million U.S. Department of Justice grant will support virtual reality training for domestic violence response

Taylor Thomas — Mon, 13 Apr 2026 14:05:16 +0000

$1 million U.S. Department of Justice grant will support virtual reality training for domestic violence response Taylor Thomas Mon, 04/13/2026 - 10:05

Domestic violence 911 calls often place first responders in the midst of crisis and confusion. The scene may involve conflicting stories, visible injuries, frightened children, and little clarity about what just happened.

At 91��, researchers have secured more than $1 million in federal funding to help frontline professionals prepare for these complex moments. The grant from the U.S. Department of Justice will help fund a novel virtual reality (VR) training program to strengthen interprofessional responses to domestic violence.

Social work professors Denise Hines and Holly Matto will co-lead the one-year project in the College of Public Health, partnering with local law enforcement, domestic violence organizations, and health care providers in Northern Virginia to design and pilot the training. The team also includes social work assistant professors Michelle Hand and Anna Parisi as co-investigators, and Bethany Cieslowski, chief innovation officer for immersive technologies.

The faculty members, as well as College of Public Health Dean Melissa J. Perry, expressed gratitude to U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine of Virginia for their support of the congressional funding, and to the Department of Justice for administering the $1,026,029 award through its Byrne Justice Assistance Grants program.

VR headsets in the college's Lab for Immersive Technologies and Simulation.

“We’re thankful for the leadership and support to bring the power of virtual reality to improve health and safety,” Perry said. “Virginia will lead the way in coordinated, prevention-focused responses to domestic violence. Looking ahead, the model developed here can one day help communities across the country.”

Using technology and resources in the College of Public Health’s Lab for Immersive Technologies and Simulation, the project team will build VR case scenarios that reflect the complexities of domestic violence calls. The simulations will allow frontline professionals to practice coordinated responses and experiment with different approaches before facing similar situations in real life.

“The innovation here is bringing together professionals like law enforcement, social workers, and health care providers to co-design new VR cases that are relevant to challenges on the ground,” Matto said.

Domestic violence remains a public health and safety crisis. In Virginia alone, the statewide domestic and sexual violence hotline received more than 70,000 calls in 2023. Family and intimate partner violence accounts for roughly one-third of all homicides in the state annually. And for first responders, these calls can also be among the most volatile and unpredictable situations they encounter.

“Domestic violence calls are some of the toughest calls, but also some of the most common calls that law enforcement will come across,” said Hines, the Elisabeth Shirley Enochs Endowed Professor of Social Work. “They're often coming in at a precarious and dangerous moment.”

Thumbnail photo via Pexels.

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Learn more about George Mason's Grand Challenge Initiative

Key Takeaways:

Domestic violence calls can be complex and dangerous situations for first responders.
George Mason researchers secured more than $1 million from the U.S. Department of Justice to develop a virtual reality training program to improve domestic violence response.
The VR simulations will allow law enforcement, health care providers, and social workers to practice coordinated responses to difficult domestic violence scenarios in a safe training environment.

In This Story

Denise Hines, PhD

Holly Matto, PhD, LCSW-C

Michelle D. Hand, PhD, MSW, LSW

Bethany Cieslowski, DNP

Melissa J. Perry, Sc.D., MHS, MBA

New DOJ training grant focuses on the prevention of school violence

ckearney — Thu, 28 Aug 2025 17:12:05 +0000

New DOJ training grant focuses on the prevention of school violence ckearney Thu, 08/28/2025 - 13:12

With the support of a U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) training grant, 91�� researchers are working to integrate comprehensive school-based mental health systems as part of proactive violence prevention programming in public middle schools in Prince William County, Virginia.

Elizabeth Levine Brown. Photo provided

Funding for this project, Comprehensive Safety and Violence Prevention in Diverse Middle Schools, will approach $2 million over three years.

Elizabeth Levine Brown leads the research team, which comprises faculty from across several programs within the College of Education and Human Development (CEHD). Co-Principal investigators include Stephanie Dailey and Samantha Viano.

The primary goals of this project are to improve school climate, increase perceptions of safety, and reduce violence in all 17 middle schools within the Prince William County Schools (PWCS) system.

Students’ access to school-based mental health systems can play a critical role in creating a school environment conducive to learning. Although existing preparation programs for teachers and other school leaders provide introductory training on how a student’s social, emotional, and behavioral responses can impact their learning, there is an increasing need for more in-depth mental health training. This project will address that need through the development of on-site training that will provide school personnel with the skills necessary to support student mental health as part of a proactive violence prevention program.

Stephanie Dailey. Photo by Office of University Branding

Brown, an associate professor in the Elementary Education and Educational Psychology Programs, is a developmental psychologist and a recognized expert in school-based mental health programming. Dailey, an assistant professor in the Counseling Program, has extensive experience in the design of responsive schoolwide violence prevention initiatives and inclusive trauma-informed education. Viano, associate professor in the Education Leadership and Education Policy Programs, is known for her extensive research on school safety and security, and related implications for educational policy and leadership.

In addition, the researchers have ongoing collaborations with other universities and national centers, such as the National Center for School Mental Health and the National Center for Safe and Supportive Learning Environments.

“This grant provides opportunities to train within multidisciplinary teams by bringing together teachers, leaders, school mental health providers, and school resource officers to have a common understanding of procedures and policies to support violence prevention with clear extensions to implementation exercises that can be used across the whole school site,” Brown said.

Samantha Viano. Photo provided

“Safety is not just the absence of violence—it is the presence of belonging, trust, and proactive support,” said Dailey. “We aim to build school climates that cultivate resilience, connection, and student and staff empowerment. By embedding these principles into middle school systems, this project will create lasting impact.”

The initiative is being developed in tandem with the strategic planning process currently underway within PWCS. The researchers’ goal is to facilitate the development of a violence prevention plan that is multi-tiered, developmentally appropriate, inclusive and responsive, trauma-informed, and centered around prevention rather than reaction.

The project will be implemented in four phases:

A comprehensive needs assessment will be conducted across all 17 PWCS middle schools using the School Mental Health Quality Assessment (SMH-QA), which can help identify strengths and gaps that may exist in a school’s mental health intervention services and supports.
Multidisciplinary teams will be formed at each school comprising middle school leaders, teachers, school mental health professionals, school resource officers (SROs), and students.
Evidence-based training focused on school climate, mental health literacy, multi-tiered systems of support, threat assessment, and violence prevention will be codeveloped and delivered to school personnel.
A series of in-school training exercises and activities, tailored to the school’s specific needs as identified during the assessment, will be implemented over a three-year period to ensure long-term adoption of best practices.

“We will conduct focus groups to gather the perspectives of school personnel on school climate, staff requirements for tiered levels of services and supports, multidisciplinary teaming, and current school safety and prevention protocols,” Brown explained.

The team chose to focus on middle school students because of the heightened emphasis on peer dynamics and social status that takes place during early adolescence. However, Brown believes that their approach could be applied to elementary and high schools in the future.

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DOJ grant supports study of the effects of school security equipment on student outcomes

Katarina Benson — Wed, 02 Apr 2025 16:17:09 +0000

DOJ grant supports study of the effects of school security equipment on student outcomes Katarina Benson Wed, 04/02/2025 - 12:17

91�� professor Samantha Viano is leading a multi-university team to assess the impact of school security equipment (SSE) grants on school violence, safety, and related outcomes. The team has received a $1.7 million grant from the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) of the U.S. Department of Justice to support of the project, “The Impact of School Security Equipment on Students and Schools.”

Samantha Viano. Photo provided

Working with Viano are Lucy Sorensen of University at Albany, Trevor Fronius of WestEd, Benjamin W. Fisher of University of Wisconsin–Madison, and Meagan Call-Cummings of Johns Hopkins University. The study focuses on the impact of SSE on school- and student-level safety, climate, disciplinary, and juvenile justice outcomes at all levels of K-12 education.

“This initiative is crucial because it addresses whether the billions of dollars U.S. schools are spending on security equipment is leading to the intended outcomes,” said Viano, an associate professor in the School of Education at George Mason. “Despite the substantial funding, there is limited causal evidence on the effectiveness of SSE in improving school safety. This study aims to fill this gap by providing rigorous, mixed-methods research to inform educational policy and practice.”

The goals of this project are to identify the impact; determine how the impact of these grants varies depending several factors; compile a security contract database; understand the reasons why schools apply for SSE grants; and contextualize study findings through participatory action research with youth.

A unique aspect of this initiative is the direct involvement and engagement of students through Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) within George Mason’s Youth Research Council. YPAR is a type of community-engaged research designed and conducted by youth, in collaboration with adult mentors. Approximately 50 youth from more than 20 high schools in Virginia will participate in co-designing and co-facilitating research as part of Viano’s study.

Viano said this approach will ensure that the findings of the study include the perspectives of students who are the individuals most significantly affected by the installation of school security measures.

When asked why she became involved in this project, Viano said her “motivation stems from what I believe is an urgent need to address school violence and the lack of empirical

evidence on the effectiveness of school security equipment. This project aligns with my interest in educational policy, school safety, and equity, aiming to provide actionable guidance for schools and policymakers.”

This study is one of several important research initiatives led by Viano that will help close the gap in the available data and evidence needed to enhance our understanding of how security measures can affect student outcomes in K-12 schools.

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Mason expands forensic science training in rural areas with $2 million grant

ckearney — Fri, 04 Dec 2020 18:06:25 +0000

Mason expands forensic science training in rural areas with $2 million grant ckearney Fri, 12/04/2020 - 13:06

Anthony Falsetti and Mary Ellen O'Toole of Mason's growing Forensic Science Program at the site of the new Forensic Science Research and Training Laboratory. Photo by Ian Shiff/Creative Services.

The Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice (NIJ) has awarded a $2 million grant to 91�� to further the advancement of forensic science.

The funding from the NIJ will create a National Center on Forensics at Mason to provide medical and legal learning opportunities for medical students training as deputy medical examiners/ coroners in rural areas while also offering forensic science and legal training to district attorneys, judges and law enforcement officials. The award, which was announced by the DOJ’s Office of Justice Programs, is expected to also develop other opportunities as appropriate among designated partners that will benefit current and future practitioners in the field.

Mary Ellen O’Toole, the former FBI profiler who is the director of the Forensic Science Program within Mason’s College of Science, said the grant will allow her program to collaborate with partners to ensure that all victims and their families receive justice.

“Too often victims and their families and the professionals investigating the crimes who reside in rural areas don’t have access to the same resources as those from urban, metropolitan areas,” O’Toole said. “This gap can be significant and stand between case resolution and years of never knowing what happened. This grant will allow us and our partners to work to increase the number of much-needed forensic experts like medical examiners and coroners and to provide state-of-the-art training for them and other professionals.”

Joseph DiZinno, an associate professor and a former FBI forensics expert, will serve as the project’s principal investigator, while Anthony Falsetti, an associate professor and forensic anthropologist, will serve as the co-PI.

Mason will partner with the National Institute of Justice, the American Society for Clinical Pathology, the National Association of Attorneys General, the University of Washington Schools of Medicine and Law, and the Montana Forensic Science Division to serve as a national resource to raise awareness about and address the shortage of medical examiners and coroners, particularly in rural areas, DiZinno said.

“By increasing the number of forensic pathologists and by training the medical examiner, coroner and legal communities, the National Center on Forensics will directly impact the criminal justice system’s ability to determine if crimes have been committed and ensure that the guilty are held accountable and the innocent are not unfairly charged or convicted,” DiZinno said.

The Office of Justice Programs, directed by Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Katharine T. Sullivan, provides federal leadership, grants, training and technical assistance, and other resources to improve the nation’s capacity to prevent and reduce crime, assist victims and enhance the rule of law by strengthening the criminal and juvenile justice systems.

“In spite of geography, every case and every victim should be afforded the same commitment and range of resources for a thorough and comprehensive investigation and resolution within our criminal justice system,” O’Toole said. “This unique grant will allow us to bring these resources to the communities and people who need it the most.”

The grant is part of the continued expansion of the Mason program, which recently unveiled its new Forensic Science Research and Training Laboratory that is slated to open next semester on the Science and Technology Campus in Manassas. The five-acre facility will be just the eighth in the world capable of transformative outdoor research in forensic science using human remains.

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