Our Digital Behavior â From A Computer Forensic Investigator Perspective
The digital world is taking over and for many, this is a good thing. Shopping, shipping, communicating and sharing ideas or messages has never been easier or faster.
In fact, the average adult spends around twenty hours online per week.
Yes, the digital world is really taking over. But with every good advancement in technology, there will always be a way to exploit it for less than ideal purposes.
Cyberspace is only limited by storage capacity which can be updated at any time. Itâs no wonder those seeking to hide illicit information or seeking to do harm turn to the ever-expanding digital horizon to serve their purposes.
Many times, a personâs activities online can determine a criminal act has or will take place. In these cases, a computer forensic investigator is needed to investigate and determine user patterns and characteristics.
Why is digital forensics important?
Every criminalâpast, present or future–who stores any amount of information online leaves a trail. More often than not, these criminals or pre-criminals are good at hiding their cyber tracks. If there is nothing to follow, crimes can be committed without any chance to stop the crime or the offender.
Developing a digital behavior analysis will help law enforcement pinpoint persons of interest, criminal activity and hopefully stop future crimes. This is a specialty handled by a digital forensics investigator.
Where would a digital behavior analysis be used?
A digital behavior analysis can be used in a multitude of ways to further legal cases. For instance, if a business is suspicious of a former employee, maybe one who was fired for unsavory activities, holds a grudge against their former employee and has made threats, a computer forensic investigator can be utilized to perform a behavior analysis to see if this person is a true threat. In the case of a crime that has been committed, when the evidence is short, a digital behavioral analysis is performed to not only find hidden or abnormal digital behavioral patterns, but to determine if the alleged perpetrator should be further prosecuted.
While most of online activity are normal patterns of life and conducive to a productive business day, there will always be those who will use technology to further their own illegal agendas.
With the help of digital forensic experts, these individuals can be found, brought to justice or stopped before a crime has been committed.
No one gets married with the hopes of an amicable divorce in the future. We go into marriage with love and expectations of a forever companionship.
Since this is an imperfect world and we are imperfect people, divorce is sometimes the end result of a once happy union. After years of marriage wealth and possessions can be easily divided, but when it comes to children, that division becomes complicated.
Many times, a child custody battle can be won not just by who is the fittest parent, but by what kind of cyber footprint they have.
A cyber footprint is basically everything a person does online.
Though easy to erase from your view, digital footprints are not beyond reach when searched for by professionals. Call logs, social media posts, downloads, and correspondence is all useable in court if it is collected by the right digital forensics professionals.
When deciding who is the best custodial parent, an in-depth digital footprint will be created, reviewed by computer forensics experts, and critiqued by the courts.
Things like:
· Abusive comments via social media
· Adultery
· High-risk digital behaviors
· Hacking
· Cyber-stalking
· Child endangerment and/or abuse
· Financial dishonesty
· Lies and deceit
· Lewd or illegal activities
..can all be collected and presented to the court. Damaging cyber information can do a great deal to sway a judge. While each parent is trying to show their best, if their digital footprint doesnât match their real-life persona, a more in-depth investigation is in order.
Here’s some advice…
For individuals:
If facing a custody battle, keep your digital footprint clean. Refrain from any online activities that can be used against you. For example, no matter how bad you may want to rant on social media platforms, log out and walk away. Itâs not worth losing a custody case just to air grievances.
The best thing a lawyer can do is find a quality digital forensics company that specializes computer forensics and identifying the indicators of abnormal digital behaviors.
Finding online information can be tricky, and cyber professionals can find the information to help your client build a case in their favor.
In the end, the only thing that matters is the childâs best interest. In order to protect that interest, keep your footprint clean and seek the right help.
Itâs a brief list of people who havenât benefited in some way from the rise of the personal computer. And even PCâs have been replaced by more sleek, powerful and portable devices like tablets and laptops that deliver all the abilities without the need for constant connection to a power source.
The quick rise in home-based technology has also, sadly, led to the meteoric rise in computer crime or cybercrime. And while the persona of cybercrime has many faces, one of the costly aspects of computer crime is the data breach and all the havoc they can cause.
In 2016, cyber theft cost the global economy more than 450 billion dollars and it was found that 53 percent of businesses in the U.S., U.K., and Germany were just ill-prepared. Â Could you have been apart of that statistic? If you’re not taking steps to protect your business…absolutely.
What is a data breach?
A data breach is a security incident when sensitive or otherwise personal data is exposed to unauthorized viewing, copying or leaking onto the internet. In short, itâs stealing confidential information.
Data breaches come in many forms. Sometimes itâs a trusted employee who changes jobs, but their file access is still active when it should be terminated. Such cases are considered non-malicious breaches; no data is stolen, and the incident is quickly remedied. Other times, human error leaves sensitive data exposed. However, the most dangerous data breach is the external threat posed by vengeful groups or criminals seeking to steal information.
Who is causing these breaches?
As mentioned before, many times human error is the cause of data breaches. While these are upsetting, they usually pose little harm to the unprotected information. Criminal organizations, state-sponsored or individual hackers, on the other hand, pose the biggest threat. These individuals and organizations are out to steal data and information for financial, or political gain or to cause chaos.
What can I do about data breaches?
As a consumer:
Keeping up-to-date firewalls, antivirus and malware protection are the best lines of defense on your private systems.
For the business owner:Â
If you are a business owner who has faced a data breach you will need expert digital forensic help to ensure that your information is recovered, and future attacks are thwarted. Do some research and find a reputable company that will help you protect your business and information.
As long as technology keeps growing, so to will the criminals who prey on it. Be cautious and educated about the dangers of data breaches. For businesses, get the right assistance from professionals trained in dealing with or preventing computer crime to assure your information stays safe online.
“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 soâŠdistracting.
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?Â
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 wasnât 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 shouldnât 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:
Digital [dij-i-tl]: pertaining to, noting, or making use of computers and computerized technologies, including the Internet.
Forensic: [fÉârenzik]: scientific tests or techniques used in connection with the detection of crime.
The technology explosion that has flooded the world with digital ease has also created some less than ideal circumstances.
Trying to protect a company or self from cyber-attack is only part of the solution for safe IT infrastructure. Now, people can make their past disappear with the few keystrokes, or that vital file can vanish with a mouse click or two. The world of ones and zeros plays such a vital part in daily life but can also be used to wreak havoc and hide truths. As the world of technology has grown, a new breed of investigation and protection is needed to not only watch-over but un-earth digital life.
This is what Guardian Forensics was made for.
Guardian Forensics specializes in digital forensics investigations, or, threat hunting to identifying and eliminating threats to IT infrastructure. Malware, viruses, ransomware–any malicious data that can attack a businessâ technology is found, isolated and eliminated.
But this isnât the only thing we do. We also specialize in Unlocking the Truth.
When it comes to litigation, digital information plays a key role in the outcome of many cases. Lawsuits can become tricky and difficult to navigate when individuals or businesses are able to hide vital information from the courts. Crimes go unpunished and justice un-satisfied when information is hidden or conveniently âmissing.â Guardian Forensics specializes in finding hidden digital facts to ensure that every person and business has a fair day in court and that wrongs are righted.
Based in Oklahoma and Arkansas, Guardian Forensics serves nation-wide clients, preserving IT infrastructure and preserving the digital facts necessary to aid in legal proceedings. No matter the file, the information, the reason, we have the ability and the expertise to find the hidden truth and bring it to light.
The ever-widening world of cyberspace creates a danger to infrastructure and endless virtual hiding spaces for information that needs to be conveniently lost. While there will always be ways to hide information or create a digital risk, Guardian Forensics will always be there to find it and fight it.
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.
