Posted by the Asbury Park Press
BY KIRK MOORE
STAFF WRITER
The opening chapter of John Paul Lucich's new book is titled "Welcome to My World." And a grim, labyrinthine world it is.
A computer forensics expert who specializes in computer security and corporate fraud cases, Lucich is the author of "Cyber Lies: When Finding the Truth Matters," a 201-page handbook aimed specifically at helping computer nonliterate spouses who suspect their partners are using the household PC to cheat on them.
"I saw a growing need to put this out there," said Lucich, who will sign books from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Barnes & Noble bookstore at Brick Plaza on Chambersbridge Road in Brick.
Lucich started his career as a Fairfield police officer and got into computer-crime investigation when he joined the state Attorney General's office in 1986, where he worked in the organized crime and racketeering bureau.
In 1996, he went into private practice, and today Lucich's Union-based firm Network Security Group Inc. provides technical support to lawyers and companies. At times, the company gets called in to help spouses on the verge of divorce.
"They're totally frustrated. They know something is going on, but they can't find anything out," he said.
The first three chapters of the book are a guide to how infidelity is conducted on the Internet — through messaging, chat rooms and commercial services with such names as Meet2Cheat that frankly cater to the market.
Lucich said he made contact with one service operator, and he recounts their candid discussions.
"Morally, I think what they're doing is reprehensible. But we had very frank discussions," Lucich said.
Those interviews provide a picture of the commercial side of online cheating, and an eye-opener to anyone who hasn't seen the Internet's underbelly.
Getting the goods
Other parts of the book are a basic technical manual for navigating computer files and cell-phone memories and determining how they've been used. There are instructions for tracking back e-mail addresses, and uncovering cached information from Web-based message boards. Lucich cautions upfront that those who suspect their spouses of being unfaithful should consult a lawyer before proceeding.
"I was a cop for 17 years and I don't want them to do anything that breaks the law," Lucich stressed. What happens after that, he said, "depends on what they find."
If a spouse is using the computer to facilitate affairs, "you're going to find stuff, and lots of it," Lucich said.
The process of probing files and registries is tough, Lucich warns.
"It's not an easy job. It's very, very tedious," he said. "We sit down for days and days and sort out gigabytes of information to find a few scraps for corporate cases.'"
In divorce cases, "most of the time, the evidence we find on a computer never gets used in a court of law," Lucich said.
But the evidence confirms suspicions and can help a victimized spouse make a decision whether to end the marriage, he said.
Encountering hostility
The vast majority of offenders are men, Lucich said. But he said he has been surprised by the hostility that's greeted his book in some quarters, and assertions "that this book would be responsible for ending more marriages than it saves."
"I had one publicist tell me she refused to handle the book because it was against her corporate philosophy," Lucich said. "I was in one book store at the Shore where a woman told me, "Put that book in the garbage!' She said women have no rights to know their husbands' secrets. She said it right to my face!
"I think that's baloney. The purpose of this book is not to save marriages. Only you and your husband can do that."
Back to Press Room >>