Stephen Payne
Stephen Payne is a software developer and computer forensic examiner. He has developed, commercially published and distributed 20 tools for the use in the field of Computer Forensics. Mr. Payne is the primary developer for DataLifter v2.0, DateLifter.Net Bonus Tools, Digital Companion and File Extractor Pro.
Mr. Payne is also a detective for the Oregon State Police and has worked for them since 1994. He has been assigned to the Computer Crimes Unit since 1997.
Mr. Payne was a member of the board of directors for the International Association of Computer Investigative Specialists for approximately six years. He has been an active member with IACIS for approximately 15 years. He received his DPC/ from IACIS in 1993, first attending IACIS in 1991. He has testified in six counties in the state of Oregon as a computer expert.
Mr. Payne is a recognized topical instructor through Department of Police Standards Safety and Training for Fraud and Computer Crime and has been an instructor for Northwest Computer Technologies.
In 1998 Mr. Payne was invited to participate in a national research project lead by the National Institute of Justice and The U.S. Department of Justice regarding the Electronic Crime Needs Assessment for State and Local Law Enforcement (March 2001 NCJ 186276).
Mr. Payne has examined over 500 hard drives, thousands of removable media and conducted over 400 forensic examinations. He is currently assigned to the Oregon State Police Violent Offender Section located in Salem, Oregon.
As a detective for the Oregon State Police who began specializing in computer forensics 14 years ago, Mr. Payne knew that there was a lack of useful tools to help law enforcement officers retrieve data from cell phones. So when BKForensics President and CEO Bill Jeitner approached him four years ago with the idea for developing software specifically for that purpose, Mr. Payne jumped at the chance to help out.
The two had met through the International Association of Computer Investigative Specialists (IACIS). Though Mr. Jeitner had the idea for the software, he needed an accomplished programmer to design it. Mr. Payne, a self-taught programmer who had already developed his own commercial product, was the logical choice.
It took Mr. Payne about a year to develop Cell Phone Analyzer, one of the first automated software programs capable of interpreting binary data from cell phones. The following year, he developed SIM Analyzer as a value-added extension of CPA. SIM Analyzer allows users to recover content from cell phone SIM cards.
Both CPA and SIM Analyzer allow for physical acquisition of data. Mr. Payne, who is based in Corvallis, OR, is now working on a logical acquisition module that will allow BKForensics to offer a comprehensive suite of forensic tools that will enable investigators to examine and retrieve evidence from a wide variety of cell phones.
“What’s important is all the data,” he said. “We have a tendency to limit ourselves in the industry, but what BKForensics is doing is helping with that.”
Moving forward, the 46-year-old Payne said his aim will be to continue providing BKForensics customers with the software, training and certification opportunities that they need in order to effectively protect and serve their communities.
“Our goal is to provide complete, concise solutions for any individual of any level,” he said.
