Being a CSI isn't as glamorous as on TV!
Dr Vivienne Mee is a leading expert in computer forensics in Ireland.
'LIFE as a real life CSI isn't as glamorous as it looks on TV!' says Dundalk woman Vivienne Mee who is a leading expert in computer forensics in Ireland.
Dr Mee, from Mountain View, Point Road, just recently graduated from the University of Glamorgan in Wales with a PhD in Computer Forensics.
Now working as a Senior IT Forensic Consultant with Deloitte's Enterprise Risk Services division in Dublin, she admits that although the work is 'hugely enjoyable' it isn't exactly how Gil Grissom and co make it look on the TV series CSI.
'I do watch those shows, and I have to laugh sometimes at how quickly they get results, it's certainly not like that in reality.'
Vivienne, daughter of Michael and Mary Mee, started her education at Realt na Mara Primary school and continued on to study at St. Vincent's Secondary.
'From there, I did a degree in software development at DkIT, and graduated in 2002.'
In order to pursue her career opportunities, Vivienne then completed a masters in information security and computer crime.
'It was during my masters that I got really interested in this line of work, especially in relation to computer crime, and internet fraud, which are really prevalent on an international scale.'
Following her masters, Vivienne has spent the last few years working on her PhD in collaboration with the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory in the UK.
In her day to day role with Deloitte, Dr Mee works with organisations that have experienced incidents of fraud.
' Throughout a fraud investigation process, I provide litigation support, in terms of providing evidence in court, and I also analyse data from computer systems and any relevant digital media.'
Before joining Deloitte, she worked with Rits Information Security as lead Computer Forensic Analyst for a number of years.
At Rits she managed the computer forensic laboratory and worked on over 80 separate Irish cases, which included cases for government and private organisations.
'Most people assume that once they have deleted material on their computer or messages from their phone that they are gone, but that's not the case, and a lot of the work I do revolves around retrieving data from computers and other electronic devices.'
- Olivia RYAN
