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.
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.
Digital Forensics Experts – Cell Phones and Secrets
Apple, Android, or other—it doesn’t matter the operating system, smartphones have lightning fast processing that lets us do almost anything. Today’s smartphones are so sophisticated that using them to call people seems archaic.
Numberless apps, virtual assistants, schedules and payment systems allow us to traverse daily life with ease and relative security.
However wonderful cell phones may be, they can hold secrets and evidence of misdeeds.
In many cases, when the law gets involved, cell phone forensics becomes exhibit A. with the help of Guardian digital forensics experts, no secret stays locked away forever.
In many legal cases, smartphone usage is scrutinized to find out any information that can be used to further legal actions.
Things like:
* Pictures
* Videos
* Texts
* Emails
* Contacts and Call logs
* Social Media Activity
* Internet browsing history…
can all be used in court cases whether for the defendant or the plaintiff. Dependence on smart devices leads us to record or use our phones to the point where they become a necessity. This necessity has also become a huge liability where the law and unsavory activities are involved.
In short, if you are facing a legal battle, you will want a digital media exploitation expert who can dig into smartphone history to support your case.
Many times, guilty parties will try to delete, cleanse, or find other ways to hide their cell phone activity to protect themselves. However, with the right documentation and the right software, a digital forensics expert will be able to conduct forensics and behavioral analysis on the cell phone in question and extract even the most carefully hidden activity.
Discovered cellphone Information can be especially damning when it comes to divorce, custody battles, distracted driving accident cases and a variety of court cases examining questionable activities.
Using a cell phone makes life more convenient, but it can also leave a trail to other hidden patterns of life activities. Be careful what you put on your phone, and if facing a legal battle, be sure to investigate what the other party has on their phone. The secrets can be shocking and win the legal battle for you.
“The cell phone is probably the single most important piece of evidence you will find at a crime scene today.” – former FBI Director James Comey
As mobile technology continues to evolve and become an important part of everyday life, so does the importance of mobile forensics in criminal investigations.
Mobile technology makes so many facets of life easier. Letters traveling through the mail have been replaced by emails and rows of cookbooks replaced by apps. Little devices held in our hands and pockets have the power of unlimited information accessible with a few finger taps.
And yet, these mobile devices can be so…distracting.
Although they are an essential part of life, they have become a life and death problem when it comes to distracted driving. In 2015, 3,477 people were killed in crashes involving distracted drivers. It’s no doubt that distracted driving due to texting or talking on cell phones is a huge contributor to these cases.
But… questions arise:
Were they texting?
Was the driver checking for directions?
Was he or she answering an emergency call? Were they making an emergency call?
Sometimes the truth is a little complicated.
For distracted driving investigations, preservation of digital evidence will be critical in determining the outcome of your case. With the use of cell phone records and some data retrieval by mobile forensics professionals, a clearer picture is created as to events leading to the incident.
Here’s an example:
A driver, heading home from work, spots a car coming at them–the other driver with their head down, cellphone in hand. The other driver drifts across the lane and hits the first one head-on. Police reports are eventually filed, but the other driver swears that he wasn’t on his phone. Now it becomes a case of word against word. To ensure that justice is met, the help of professional mobile forensics experts is needed to ensure that the guilty party is held accountable and the innocent supported.
Seeking legal counsel that utilizes state-of-the-art digital forensics and behavioral analysis is the best way to prove your innocence. Cellphones and driving really shouldn’t mix, but if they do and the law gets involved, seek the right digital help.
Here is a video that addresses this issue from a law enforcement perspective:
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.
