When Professor Tim Carver of Tri-State University decided to visit the National Cryptologic Museum in Ft. Meade, MD, he wrote a few letters first.

“I developed a digital forensics course for the university,” said Carver, “and this semester I teach an honors course called Cryptology and History. So I thought to contact a few places before leaving.”

He sent letters to the Hamilton County Sheriff’s office and the New York Police Department asking to visit their computer forensics labs. A similar letter went to CIA headquarters in Langley, Va., adding a request to meet with cryptanalysts (code-breakers). Another set of letters went to the National Security Agency asking for educational items, cryptanalyst job requirements, and museum questions.

Carver never heard from the NYPD. He received a very polite letter from the CIA, stating they do not give tours to the public, they offer no educational resources, and good luck for the future.

But he was pleasantly surprised to receive an e-mail inviting him to visit the Hamilton County Regional Electronics and Computer Investigations Task Force (RECI) in Cincinnati, Ohio on July 30 and 31.

“I spent two days with detectives Dave Ausdenmoore and John Ruebusch. They allowed me to observe the investigation of an assault case. They showed me what they looked for and how they searched for evidence, and how they were able to support certain conclusions based upon evidence left on the suspect’s computer and other devices,” he said.

Along with photos of the victim, evidence of other related illegal activity was found. All of the evidence was to be presented to the grand jury by Ausdenmoore. To protect the identity of the victim, Carver was not allowed to see the proceedings.

An unexpected surprise came when Carver received an e-mail from Dr. Bill Williams, chief of the Center for Cryptologic History, National Security Agency, inviting him to meet and discuss the cryptology and history course.

“I was so excited, I immediately started telling people, ‘I’ve been invited to meet with the NSA!’” Carver said.

This was not the end of surprises for this visit. Two weeks before the scheduled meeting, Dr. Williams contacted Patrick Weadon, curator for the National Cryptologic Museum, which is also operated by the NSA. Weadon invited Carver for a VIP tour.

The museum showcases the impact of cryptology on world history. The NSA stored a lot of historical items from German Enigma machines to rare books to supercomputers. A decision was made at NSA to display these declassified items, first to NSA personnel and their families, eventually opening the doors to the public.

“I walked into the museum with many bits and pieces of history in mind. Mr. Weadon added to them and helped put it all together,” said Carver.

Meeting with Williams was equally impressive. “There were aspects of cryptology I never knew before. How crooks used codes. The contributions of blacks and women during World War II. And that code-breakers have died in service to their country,” Carver said.

From the beginning, people asked Carver why he sent out the letters. “If you do not try, you have absolutely no chance to succeed,” he said. He hopes that the digital forensics and the cryptology and history courses will be even better from these experiences because the letters provided so much help.