computer forensic investigation Archives - Page 10 of 10

Data Extracted in Computer Forensics Results in Additional Charges

Even though the protocol and process a computer forensics investigator uses to extract and analyze data from a computer are the same no matter who owns the computer, ownership does make a difference in the outcome once the facts are uncovered. For one thing, the owner of the machine has to provide appropriate permission for the computer forensics investigators to access data on the device. What the users are allowed to do on the machine also comes into play depending on whether the computer is owned by a private individual, a corporation or a municipality. For example, had a case where our computer forensic experts were asked to extract data from a computer owned by a municipality. An employee was suspected of using municipal funds [...]

Computer Spyware is a Real and Viable Threat

TV, movies and media provide a glimpse into situations that the everyday person may not consider reality. However, we in the investigative world see that not everything is so fantastic that it is improbable. Take a scene from a sitcom where one character witnesses what is going on in his ex-wife’s home because his son left the webcam turned on on his computer. He hadn’t set it up so he could spy on her, but that doesn’t mean that someone else couldn’t or wouldn’t do that. Or consider that recent AP article reporting that some group (thought to be a middle-eastern government) actually infiltrated the computer systems in the nuclear centrifuge in Iran in 2010 through the use of webcams and microphones. They called it [...]

Data is Data to Cell Phone and Computer Forensic Experts

“But I didn’t open anything bad!” That’s what one of our clients said when our computer forensic specialist was trying to explain that she did, indeed, have spyware on her cell phone. The thing is that a link is a link is a link. By that, I mean that the hardware – the cell phone or the computer doesn’t distinguish between good data and bad data or a good link from a bad link. It’s all just information and commands to the machine. And every time anything is accessed online or opened on your phone or computer, such as a website, an e-mail or text message, it is actually a link that someone sends you. When you accept it, you are actually downloading it. That [...]

Computer Forensics Discovery Reveals the Truth

When Brad called , he was pretty distraught. The conversation with him was peppered with one phrase. He kept saying he just wanted the truth. The truth he was seeking was about Lynn, his wife. Lynn was a freelance graphic artist. She worked from home and spent hours in front of the computer. She had turned one of the bedrooms into a home office and after a year or two made a conscious decision to close the door to the office at 5 p.m. to indicate she was done working for the day. Lately, she’d started returning after dinner to the office and pushed the door so it was only slightly ajar. Brad was concerned that she was working too much and he missed her [...]

In Computer Forensic Analysis, the Broader the Scope the Better

Have you ever heard about the form of marketing called drip marketing? It’s where a little bit of information is “dripped out” a little bit at a time over an extended period. It reminds me of the form of torture where it is set up that a drip of water is dropped on the victim continuously for hours. Sometimes we see that kind of dripping out of information on cases we get. Let me illustrate with a case we handled for an international firm. The chairman of the board of the firm contacted us because of our computer forensic services. The vice president of operations had been terminated primarily because of he was suspected of breeching corporate confidentiality and engaging in activities that resulted in [...]

Computer Forensics Investigations Uncover Truth (and Evidence)

Computer forensic experts are in high demand now and that demand grows greater every day. Why? Twenty years ago, many people could go weeks or months without ever touching a computer. Today, few people or businesses go minutes without logging on and reaching out into the digital world of the Internet. Computers are the way we communicate, store information, make plans and organize our lives. So it just makes sense that whenever something is amiss or suspected, one of the first places to gather evidence is from the bad guy's computer or his mobile unit - his cell phone. Bad guys often think they have their big secrets hidden well enough or deleted to escape discovery. As computer forensics experts here at , we know [...]

Oh, the Secrets a Computer Reveals in a Computer Forensic Examination

We recently had a client who came to us unhappy – and angry. The business owner was unhappy because he had lost a key employee in his company. But worse than that, he was angry because the employee had started a competing company and the owner suspected the new company was started not only while the worker was still employed by him, but using his firm’s trade secrets, equipment and resources. He just couldn’t prove it. At least not with enough evidence for his attorney. Of course, the employee denied it when confronted. Through a computer forensic examination, we were able to uncover documents and communications (e-mails and reports) that brought the truth out. The employee had started his new company before leaving the old [...]