St. John's News

NYPD Lieutenant John Otero has resigned this summer from his post as Commanding Officer of the department’s Computer Crimes Squad to become the principal instructor of St. John’s new Computer Security Systems bachelor’s program, which has been hailed as the first of its kind offered in the New York metropolitan region.

Otero, who headed the NYPD’s cyber-crime squad for five years, enters the 2007 fall semester as a full-time Assistant Professor within the University’s College of Professional Studies. He is teaching four newly launched courses: “Network Security,” “Information Security,” “Cyber Threats and Detection” and “Introduction to Information Security.”

“John Otero’s appointment has helped to make St. John’s a center of excellence in criminal justice,” says Ronald Fechter, Ph.D., Associate Professor and Chair of the College’s Division of Computer Science, Mathematics and Science. “He is a natural-born teacher with an urge to share his knowledge of the computer security frontier. His presence marks a tremendous enrichment of our program, and the possibilities he brings with him are great.”

St. John’s launched its computer security program this semester due to a recent surge in employment demand for computer analysts specializing in cyber crime. According to Fechter, the country is suddenly faced with a host of computer threats relating to identity fraud, hackers, predators and spam, collectively costing U.S. businesses and other organizations tens of billions of dollars a year. Because of this trend, the U.S. Bureau of Labor recently reported that it expects the pool of computer security jobs to rise at least 27 percent through 2014.

“Cyber crime affects many people in ways they don’t realize, and hopefully this new program will turn out the next generation of cyber-crime fighters who will help others defend themselves,” says Otero.

The NYPD Computer Crime Squad is arguably the most esteemed cyber-crime police unit in the United States. As Commanding Officer, Otero supervised 32 detectives, who together were charged with investigating every computer crime in New York City.

Otero leaves his command post with the legacy of ushering his squad through an era in which technology came to dominate the majority of Americans’ lives. The former NYPD detective points out that computers have become central pieces of evidence in nearly every crime imaginable. In the past six months, for example, Otero’s squad solved two homicide cases in which victim and perpetrator met online. The squad has also assisted CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, solved cases involving arson, rape, gambling and child exploitation, and helped crack the recently publicized case in which a New Yorker disguised as a firefighter assaulted a woman in her home.

Otero’s team has been particularly influential in cracking down on the sudden resurgence of prostitution, which has fed off of Internet chat rooms and social networking sites such as MySpace and CraigsList.

“The Internet can be a dangerous place,” says Otero. “Smart people who have the ability to make rational decisions go online and make irrational decisions.” 

Otero explains that computer security has become one of the hottest fields in the world because so many technologies are converging. Just a few years ago, for example, cell phones were used only to store numbers and place and receive calls. Now, explains Otero, high-tech BlackBerry® devices and iPhones have become storehouses for photos, e-mails, addresses, music and voice recordings.

Otero says it was difficult for him to leave the NYPD after so many years and that he wouldn’t have resigned were it not for the offer from St. John’s. His decision was based largely on the St. John’s criminal justice reputation, along with his desire to spend time with his wife and five-year-old triplets.

“St. John’s is a great opportunity for me,” he says. “It will allow me to help fight computer crimes in ways other than simply arresting people.” He adds: “The administration here has been great. They’ve given me a lot of latitude, and I don’t feel constrained.”

Otero has been a member of the NYPD for more than 20 years. Prior to his appointment as Commanding Officer, he served as Detective Investigator and Supervisor of the forensics lab. He has traveled the country to give lectures and lead training sessions, and is frequently consulted by producers of television crime shows such as Law and Order and CSI.

Fechter says that Otero will be responsible for recruiting a stable of adjunct professors into the program, facilitating faculty collaboration with law-enforcement and computer experts and introducing a variety of research- and application-based opportunities for St. John’s students enrolled in the computer security program.