FBI introduces Iris, a Labrador retriever trained to sniff out digital devices
The FBI has a new worker with a unique skill: Iris, a Labrador retriever, is the agency’s first dog trained to sniff out electronic devices including cell phones, computers, thumb drives—and detonators.
Trained by the Connecticut State Police, the 19-month-old canine does so by scenting two chemicals that are commonly used in most hard drives, tiny memory chips and the like, according to the Bergen Record, WNBC and the American Kennel Club. She also has been trained to find detonator shards after a bomb blast.
A video linked to the WNBC story shows the dog’s handler, FBI Agent Jeffery Calandra, demonstrating Iris’ abilities with apparent thumb drives and memory chips.
“I place them in places that I think are ridiculously hard to find and she finds everything,” Calandra said.
Iris loves to work since she is rewarded with treats for finding electronic items, he notes.
Only a handful of such dogs are now in use throughout the country, but their utility in potentially finding tossed-away cellphones, hidden thumb drives and memory chips is obvious.
“We could bring 20 agents out and slowly plod across this field, or we could bring Iris and she’ll find it in two minutes,” supervisory special agent Philip Frigm of the FBI cybercrime division tells the Record.
Although Iris is based in Newark, the FBI plans to use her in investigations throughout the country involving counterterrorism and child pornography, among other matters.
Hat tip: Daily Mail
