ROCKFORD, Mich. - We've heard of police departments with "bomb dogs" or "drug dogs" or "search dogs"...now meet Michigan State Police's "Cyber Dog".
Kibbey is a two-year-old black lab and is trained to find all different kinds of cyber hardware. Kibbey is the only cyber dog in Michigan.
Kibbey, the MSP Cyber Dog
Kibbey helps police find small or hidden circuit boards, by sniffing out a specific chemical that is only used on the boards. This means Kibbey can find items as small as a flash drive or SD card or as large as a cell phone or a computer. The police search for devices that hold a lot of information where criminals hide evidence or conduct illegal online searches.
Kibbey's handler, Trooper David Cardenas, says that Kibbey is being used in calls about ten times per month, having just started in July.
"We are finding things that were either missed or hidden during search warrants," said Cardenas.
MSP says Kibbey is saving the department money because they don't need to call a Cyber Dog from an outside source. They say they are looking to add more Cyber Dogs in the coming year as more emphasis is placed on solving cybercrimes.
