It’s a common site; you walk into a coffee shop and see multiple people with their laptops and tablets out, typing away with their drinks and snacks close at hand. It’s nice to be able to work outside the office and thanks to many establishments offering free Wi-Fi, people can work in a relaxed atmosphere while generating business for the establishment offering the internet hook-up.
Seems like a good plan, right? No, not really.
While free Wi-Fi is great for the budget and gives options for getting work done, it can also lead to computer crime.
One major concern when using free Wi-Fi is security. Most places that offer free Wi-Fi can’t or won’t control who uses it. It needs to be easy to access for patrons and hard to crack for hackers. The problem is, many “hackers” are also patrons. And those who aren’t, have no problem cracking public Wi-Fi security to steal information and cause chaos.
At home, personal encryption, antivirus, and firewalls for your router will generally keep you safe from spying and hacking. With so many homes with Wi-Fi, the chances of an outside cybercriminal specifically targeting your system from the outside is minimal.
Since public Wi-Fi is exactly that, public, anyone can get on the network. Different schemes like MiM attacks can easily control correspondence between devices. Just think of that if you’re trying to work with your bank over lunch.
Other cybercrimes like cloning (or diverting your traffic to a cloned site to extract information) and password theft are all too easy when public Wi-Fi is used.
If you just must use public Wi-Fi, there are ways to protect yourself from cybercrime.
First, be picky about where you use. Restricted networks or partially free Wi-Fi are usually safer than full-free sites.
Keep your Wi-Fi off when you aren’t using it and once you get to a trusted network or at home, be sure to change passwords.
Also, keep your antivirus up to date and frequently run scans for malicious activity.
If you do find yourself at the mercy of cybercriminals, don’t fret. Contact the Department of Justice. Their website has a contact page where you can report incidents. Let them know what happened. Also, many police departments will know a reputable computer forensics company you can work with to get more detailed help.
Whether it’s a small business or a booming company, businesses will all need information technology support. Software, hardware, networks, CRM’s and apps all need the support of highly skilled IT persons to fix and maintain day to day technology operations. In many cases, the IT staff is not equipped to handle corporate investigations requiring collection, preservation, and analysis of digital evidence. The daily battle of insider threats or incident responses related to malware and viruses is really no match for the generalist IT staff. However great an IT department may be, companies may want to rethink exactly what they need and augment staff with digital forensics and cybersecurity professionals.
With computer crime an ever-present reality, businesses would do well to invest in computer forensics experts to work along with their IT staff to protect and/or discover where and by whom attacks are coming. Other reasons to have a dedicated computer forensics expert are as follows:
Having a dedicated Computer forensics expert or company on your side protects you in cases of insider threats. Having an expert on your side means company secrets, that may get “lost” can quickly be found and the person(s) responsible will be caught and held accountable.
Working with a forensics expert means there is no place for cyber crooks to hide. If your company is falling prey to external cyber-attacks or internal mischief, a cyber forensics expert will find the offender and protect your network. They have a specialized set of skills that will allow them to address the issues and more importantly, where these issues originated from.
If it goes to litigation, you have an expert to testify for your company. Theft of Intellectual property or trade secret cybercrime isn’t always mentioned in the news, but it does exist. If competition is mounting cyber-attacks toward a company, the cyber forensic experts will be there to find the evidence and support with expert testimony when it goes to litigation.
You have impartial help. Guardian experts are well equipped to look at the data and aren’t concerned with internal or external persons attached to the business. Status or job title have little sway when the data is analyzed. Our experts analyze and present the information with no worry of hiding facts to protect anyone. The data will speak for itself.
Most companies don’t need or can’t afford a dedicated full-time cyber forensic team but finding a service to meet your company’s needs is a wise idea. Guardian Forensics has the knowledge and skill to help businesses with their Corporate computer forensics and investigative needs.
In this digital age, it isn’t just the dissolution of marriage, it’s the digital aspect of divorce that can become a problem. Some couples are looking for clues of infidelity, Intimate Partner Surveillance, abuse by cyberstalking or even going as far as committing a identify theft is cybercrime.
The day a couple gets married should be the happiest day of their lives. In an ideal world, that couple moves from blissful newlyweds to new parents to a home fit for a family, complete with pet and minivan. This ideal isn’t always the case, unfortunately. Everyday life starts to take its toll. That person isn’t the same as the one who got married.
Infidelity, abuse, or just growing too far apart to come back together will lead many couples into divorce court. And while the division of assets might become contentious, the unseen world of divorce can be far more damaging. Many digital forensics companies have had the unfortunate task of finding evidence that one part of the estranged couple is committing a cybercrime.
A messy divorce will often have a messy digital component.
Frequently, a vengeful partner will resort to a form cyberstalking called Intimate Partner Surveillance to keep tabs on their “other half.” Apps and spyware are easy to install and cheap to purchase, making them attractive options to dig up dirt on the separated husband or wife.
The Bureau of Justice Statistics noted that 1.5% of the people polled were victims of stalking and a significantly higher 3.3% of divorced or separated individuals were also victims.
The dissolution of marriage can lead one (or both) partners to resort to illegal digital activities.
In an effort to try and control the other and make their lives miserable. In some extreme cases, one partner will even resort to identity theft to try and “get back” at the other partner for the divorce. Getting in touch with a credit monitoring company and changing account information should be the first step when filing for divorce to protect both parties.
While no one can stop people from making bad decisions, having the right support during a messy divorce can protect the victim.
Having a lawyer that works with forensic data recovery services will help in building a case against the offending partner and their digital crimes. Cell phone malware analysis, in particular, will find any spyware apps and help stop the insanity caused by a messy divorce in the cyber age.
Wherever there are great ideas and profitable businesses there will inevitably be copy-cat businesses trying to do the same thing at a competitive price. Having a great idea isn’t such an uncommon event but making that great idea into a lucrative and successful business is quite another matter. Many businesses are built on hard work and great ideas that also create more growth for that business.
There’s nothing wrong with a little competition, after all, competition keeps us on our toes and working hard. The problem comes when businesses start to “borrow” ideas from competitors. Even among smaller businesses trade secrets and espionage are a problem; and no one wants their ideas stolen.
For employees with great ideas: guard them!
On the most basic level, corporate stealing starts with disgruntled or lazy employees that want to look efficient. They may take memo’s and present them as their own or even undermine projects so theirs will look better. Employees need to take precautions against this. Not printing up confidential documents, locking down laptop access with frequently changed passwords and shredding any printed documents once they are no longer needed will help cut down on inter-office espionage.
Disgruntled employees may have a reason to steal.
Dealing with disgruntled employees is never fun, but an angry employee has a reason to steal secrets and Intellectual ideas and sell them. Sure, there are always confidentiality-clauses, but then, you have to catch these crooks in the act. If an employee is suspected of espionage, management will have to work fast to stop the information leak.
Getting a hold of that laptop isn’t enough.
In a perfect world, stopping angry employees from selling trade secrets would be as simple as taking the laptop and giving it to the IT department to work their magic. However, this isn’t always the case because companies do not have the forensic expertise in collecting and analyzing digital evidence.
A forensic data recovery company like Guardian-Forensics.com is the best way to discover how much digital information was exfiltrated and where it’s being moved to a USB or into an unauthorized cloud account. Once the information is found, it also becomes evident in a potential future criminal investigation.
The key is not to be afraid. Business owners should never bow to corporate espionage or let it stop them from growing and thriving. If an employee is taking secrets, act fast, get the right help and repair the damage. Remember, avoid using your IT staff to handle evidence and retain the experts at Guardian Forensics.
Into the Deep Dark Web – Digital Forensics can find the hidden crime
The internet makes everything so much easier. Shopping, business, connecting with friends and entertainment are all brought to us compliments of the world wide web.
What started out as ARPANET in the early days of 1983 has grown exponentially to a virtual system moving bits of information among over three billion users worldwide.
As there are never-ending applications for good with the internet, there is also a never-ending list of digital crime available. Nowhere is that more apparent than on the dark web.
Most people don’t know about the dark web and for good reason. There is a lot of bad that goes on there. But a little information can help dispel any myths and protect internet users from future dark web computer crime.
The internet is actually made up of layers:
* The surface web: Everything users do online; search engines, shopping, social media, etc.
* The Deep Web (or the invisible web): all non-search engine indexed information. Data like emails, banking websites and other pages inaccessible to search engine crawlers.
* The Dark Web: The dark underbelly of the internet, inaccessible to mainstream web browsers, this is a popular destination for all things that need to remain unseen or unreported.
So, if the dark web isn’t easy to access, why is it so popular among criminals? The short answer, anonymity. The dark web allows users to keep their identity hidden while dealing in illegal goods and services, setting up arrangements and communicating. Thus, the appeal to criminal world.
For all the illicit activity on the dark web, there is a type of silver lining. Political activists, journalists and people from countries that restrict information and internet activity use the dark web to access social media or news sites. The dark web becomes their digital life-line to get information or inform the rest of the world about the events in their countries.
For most of us, the dark web is simply a scary bedtime story that has little to do with our daily lives. The reality is, it’s a breeding ground for criminal activity.
With the ever-expanding world of cyber bad guys comes the need for computer forensic services that can protect those who have been affected by criminal activity disguised on the dark web.
Guardian Forensics is on the cutting edge when it comes to keeping data safe, we have a very informative email list that keeps you aware of news, trends and important information. Sign up here if you want to be on that list.
