Internet Drug Indictments

Florida Federal prosecutors in the Middle District have charged physicians and others with running an web-based prescription drug operations and claim they are illegally dispensing millions of doses of medication.

The website operators are charged with hiring pharmacists and doctors to issue prescriptions based on Internet questionnaires, the charges say. According to the United States Attorney, Web sites and representatives are used to sell the drugs.

Prosecutors intend to prove that doctors and pharmacists are paid to review short questionnaires and then never see the patients they were prescribing medicines to. Beyond that, none of the information submitted was ever verified, authorities said.

W F Casey Ebsary and cocounsel Marcelino Huerta III have successfully defended such claims in Federal Court. Call Toll Free 1-877-793-9290 for more details and to get some help today.

Tampa RIAA USF Music-File-Sharing Case Update

A Tampa federal judge has refused to dismiss a counterclaim filed in federal court by a USF student who accuses the recording industry of using deceptive tactics against USF students named in music downloading lawsuits.

The Tampa students accuse the RIAA, the recording industry of hiring private investigators to invade private computer networks. They also accuse the industry of using the court system as an investigative arm and then extorting money from people, using private information gained from the courts to force settlements.

The record companies have sued more than a dozen University of South Florida students, accusing them of illegal downloading. The RIAA suits and the threat of suits have caused at least 64 USF students to pay off thousands of dollars to settle music piracy complaints with record labels.

Tampa Attorney RIAA File Sharing

Sex Offender Registry Hacked

One of the rules of computer coding is to check your input. Especially when your input comes from users. The Oklahoma Department of Corrections missed that day in computer class. DOC trusted anonymous user input on their public-facing Sex Offender Registry website and they blindly executed it and displayed whatever came back.

The result of this bad coding had some rather serious consequences: the names, addresses, and social security numbers of tens of thousands of Oklahoma residents were made available to the general public for a period of at least three years.

Computer Lawyer Tampa Florida Internet

eDiscovery Tampa - 2008 Super Lawyer

Tampa eDiscovery Attorney, W.F. Casey Ebsary Jr., was selected as a Super Lawyer for the second time. That adds to his credentials - Board Certified by the Florida Bar and his AV rating by Martindale Hubbell. The Super Lawyer selection process allows a credible, comprehensive and diverse listing of outstanding attorneys that can be used as a resource to assist in the search for legal counsel.

eDiscovery Tampa Attorney Lawyer

RIAA Refuses to Pay Defense Costs Fees

The RIAA is only willing to pay one tenth of what a victorious victim of a malicious RIAA prosecution is seeking. The RIAA called the $298,995 figure "excessive" and said that it should be drastically slashed to something along the lines of $30,000. The defendant argued "As the court has previously found, the proceedings were complicated, prolonged, and made more expensive by the plaintiffs' unreasonable tactics throughout the case."

The RIAA is accused of racketeering, fraud, deceptive business practices, and a host of underhanded tactics such as seeking to directly contact the defendant's then-eight-year-old daughter under false pretenses. The trial judge has previusly ruled: "[w]hatever plaintiffs' reasons for the manner in which they have prosecuted this case, it does not appear to be justified as a reasonable exploration of the boundaries of copyright law." Source: ARS Tecnica

Tampa Hillsborough Florida Computer Attorney RIAA

Law Enforcement Has a Forensics Team - So Can You

In a computer forensics lab, the police have specialized equipment which prevents any alteration of original digital media such as hard drives, disks, and flash drives disks. In addition, they have hardware and software that will retrieve evidence from cell phones, such as text messages and pictures. For computers, specialized software is used to examine the computers and extract the evidence. Methods adopted from the International Association of Computer Investigative Specialists, a worldwide organization for computer forensics examiners, are sometimes used. At CentralLaw.com we use a forensics expert to help sort through data used in prosecution of federal indictments and state charges, fraud, hacking, theft of trade secrets, and other forms of cybercrimes.

eDiscovery Florida Mobile Devices

Mobile devices, cell phones and Personal Digital Assistants (PDA) are now an everyday part of how organizations do business. The devices transmit and receive data, log activity, and these mobile offices are as useful in discovery as traditional desktops and laptops.

The information that can be gathered from mobile devices can be forensically retrieved. Forensic data includes corporate e-mail, personal e-mail, Short Message Service (SMS) text messages, personal notes, calendar entries, photographs, address books, and inbound and outbound call logs. When placed into a timeline of events, this type of information can be invaluable to prove certain facts for a case. An expert can preserve the chain of custody and this data can be useful in litigation.

eDiscovery Florida Computer Forensics Expert

eDiscovery Florida - First Birthday for New Federal Rules of Civil Procedure

eDiscovery - For Florida and the Federal Courts, this marks the first anniversary of an overhaul of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP), which mandated the quick and accurate recovery of electronically stored information. Soon e-discovery will explode in the wake of the the subprime mortgage crisis.

eDiscovery Computer Lawyer Tampa Florida

Feds Claim No Privacy in Emails

On October 8, 2007, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit granted the USA's request for a full-panel hearing in US v. Warshak. The case centers on the right of privacy for stored electronic communications. Can the Government merely subpoena mail and skip judicial review of a search warrant? The case presents the Government's position on Constitutional email and electronic privacy - that there isn't any.

Get your encryption keys ready for this one.

Cybercrime eDiscovery Attorney Tampa

Sanctions and eDiscovery

The ABA has recommended that processes and procedures be put in place to avoid sanctions for violation of Discovery rules and the harsh sanctions for violation thereof.

Use Meta-Tagging -- Meta-tagging enables a user to tag files as being an active part of an investigation. This produces a document set where parties can isolate matching files into a working result set. You must have the ability to review files in their native format without destroying file content integrity. An accurate list of files ensures that no document outside the confines of the E-Discovery scope are exposed and thus submitted as evidence. Frozen Redacted PDF files are then used for case evidence. Redacted PDFs are protected against spoilage.

e Discovery Attorney Lawyer Tampa Florida

What is eDiscovery? Expert Florida

eDiscovery describes the exchange and disclosure of electronically stored information (ESI). In December 2006 the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure were changed to include specific requirements and guidelines regarding how to handle eDiscovery.

Since more than 90% of documents are now created electronically, and less than 30% of those electronic documents are ever converted to paper, these new rules are likely to have an impact on how everyone conducts business. The new rules on preserving ESI make having an eDiscovery complaint document retention policy more important than ever before. An expert may be needed to search terabytes of data that litigants may have.

eDiscovery Lawyer Attorney Tampa Florida

Forensic Computing and E Discovery Walks Hacking Suspect

A charge of planting a trojan horse was dropped because of "lack of sufficient evidence." A hacking suspect had been charged with computer tampering, a Class D felony that carries a penalty of six months to three years in prison and a maximum fine of $10,000, upon conviction.

The case started when a system operator reported a system crash of its servers and its backup systems. It was allecged that suspects had remote access to the computer network through personal computers The suspect denied any responsibility for the transmission and maintained his innocence.The alleged victim "concluded we lacked sufficient evidence," The victim admitted it could not prove that the suspect was "the person who used the computer at the time the . . . system was infected by the virus." South Bend Tribune

E Discovery Computer Forensics Attorney Lawyer Tampa Bay Florida

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

A computer forensics project supported by the U.S. Department of Justice's National Institute of Justice (NIJ), federal, state, and local law enforcement, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) , The National Software Reference Library (NSRL) was designed to collect software from various sources and includes a Reference Data Set (RDS) of information.

The RDS can be used for review of files on computers by matching file profiles in the RDS. This will help alleviate much of the effort involved in determining which files are important as evidence on computers or file systems that have been seized as part of criminal investigations. The list is a collection of digital signatures of known, traceable software applications. There are application hash values in the hash set which may be considered malicious, i.e. steganography tools and hacking scripts.

Crack Cocaine Sentencing Guidelines Retroactive

Defense attorneys and defendants across the United States will praise the U.S. Sentencing Commission USSC for allowing prisoners serving crack cocaine sentences to seek sentence reductions under the Sentencing Guidelines that went into effect on November 1. Retroactivity will affect 19,500 federal prisoners, almost 2,520 of whom could be eligible for early release in the first year. Federal courts will administer the application of the retroactive guideline, which is not automatic.

Counsel with Centrallaw.com and Protestzone.com are available to assist in this litigation. Call Toll Free 1-877-793-9290.

Sentencing Guidelines Retroactive

eDiscovery, Cybercrime, and Punishment

43 nations have signed on to the Convention on Cybercrime drafted by the Council of Europe with considerable input from the United States. The cost of combating cyber crime committed overseas may now be passed on to American businesses. Under the new treaty, participating countries are given sweeping access to information in United States for cybercrimes that may have been committed overseas.

For example, France has strict laws addressing the sale of Nazi memorabilia. Sale of those items on eBay may not necessarily violate United States laws. However, French authorities may seek information from buyers and sellers in the United States regarding sales that are otherwise legal in the U.S. . Article 12 of the treaty may make businesses liable for "lack of supervision or control" of employees to may have committed criminal offense(s) covered by the convention. Businesses need to watch employee activity that, while legal in the United States, may violate the laws of a participating signer of the treaty.

The record retention requirements in the treaty may require business to address the electronic discovery (eDiscovery) and computer forensics requirements that may be mandated by this new law. The costs of the Treaty will be borne by the private sector.

Sentencing Crack Guidelines - Federal Cases - United States Sentencing Commission

The Supreme Court issued decisions in three important cases: Kimbrough, Gall and Watson. In Kimbrough, the court held that a sentencing court had the authority to reject the 100 to 1 crack ratio in determining a reasonable sentence under the Booker analysis. The case gives great deference to the findings of the United States Sentencing Commission regarding the crack/powder disparity. The Sentencing Commission has recently suggested that a 20 to 1 ratio would be appropriate. As a result, it is important that, if you have any crack sentencing cases coming up in the near future, you may want to continue the sentencing so that you can you can address the crack/powder ratio issue in light of the Court's holding in Kimbrough.

Additionally, a reminder that the Sentencing Commission will be meeting today to discuss the retroactivity of the new crack amendment.

A Digital Scarlet Letter

Nearly every crime is posted in massive databases. These databases are available to almost anyone - from law enforcement to nosy neighbors. There is no way to put a crime behind you, even after you've paid your debt to society. A short jail sentence – can become a lifetime criminal record in our era's town square, the Internet. To databases you are a criminal.

Have You Resold Your Data?

People think that data on your discarded hard drive is as good as gone? Good chance it’s not, even if you reformatted it. One computer forensics company analyzed 70 old hard drives purchased from 14 different places. Confidential data was recovered from 63% of the 60 drives that were still operational.

Where is the FBI Losing Data?

According to the Inspector General, An average of at least three or four FBI laptop computers are MIA (Missing In Action) each month. The FBI was unable to say in many instances whether information on the machines is sensitive or classified, the Justice Department's inspector general said Monday. The FBI has not corrected problems as urged in a report five years ago. Cybercrime theft or just forgot the machine at the airport?

FBI And Missing Laptop Computers

FBI cybercrime information has been lost or stolen. Computers used for Computer Forensics have been lost. According to the Washington Post, the FBI has lost 160 laptop computers, including at least 10 containing classified information. One held "personal identifying information on FBI personnel," according to a report. One field office reported a stolen laptop containing software for creating identification badges. Another field office reported a stolen laptop that had been used to process surveillance-related electronic digital imaging.

Government Orders Scrubbing of Computer Hard Drives

The Air Force Academy has ordered its cadets to commence scrubbing their computers for illicit or illegal material. The cadets said they have been ordered to go through their computer files this weekend and erase any improper data, including illegally acquired music and videos as well as pornography. The data destruction was ordered amidst allegations of cheating. All 4300 cadets were confined to their barracks. If there was child pornography, mere deletion of the data will not protect the cadets, as computer forensic technology can still uncover alleged cyber crimes.

Florida Computer Crime Center

Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) has created a Florida Computer Crime Center, code named "FC3." They will investigate computer related crime and investigate complex computer crimes. FC3 will also assist with regional investigations and work to identify computer criminals. Investigations will include cases where computers are used to facilitate or help with the crime - child pornography, fraud, banking scams, drugs, and child exploitation, hacking, denial of service attacks, virus replication, network intrusions and cyber terrorism. FC3 intends to identify and harden potential cyber targets in Florida.

Innocent Images Task Force

Steve Cole, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Tampa, explained that the Innocent Images Task Force is made up of FBI agents and detectives from local law enforcement and the U.S. Probation Office. The proliferation of child pornography and child sexual exploitation facilitated by the Internet is viewed as a major law enforcement task. Cole said, “The mission of the Innocent Images Task Force is to reduce the vulnerability of children to acts of sexual exploitation and abuse through computers,” he said.

Using the Department of Homeland Security's resources for computer forensics, the task force seeks convict internet users of computer crimes. most of even the most minor offenses include a stint in federal prison.

District Court Orders Production of Hard Drive

US v. Knellinger , Case No. 3:06CR126 (E.D.Va. Jan 30, 2007).

Government attempted to restrict defense expert's access to a mirror image of hard drive. U.S. District Judge Robert Payne ordered Government to provide copy of hard drive. The judge also ruled that federal authorities have failed to make Knellinger's computer hard drive "reasonably available" for examination by defense experts at a government facility. Judge Payne ordered the government to provide the defense a copy of the hard drive.

Florida Computer Forensics Criminal Trial Lawyer Expert

http://www.CentralLaw.com Toll Free 1-877-793-9290

Right to Search Parolees Without Warrant Affirmed by 11th Circuit

United States v. Stewart (No. 06-13076)

Court upheld the right of officers to search a parolee "at any time," even without a warrant. Faron Lee Stewart argued that, although his parole conditions authorized warrantless searches, the Fourth Amendment required reasonable suspicion of criminal activity in order to search.The 11th Circuit ruled that a parolee does not have any Fourth Amendment protection from warrantless search and seizure.

Cybercrime Computer Lawyer Attorney Tampa

FBI has 10 Computer Forensic Centers

News - IT Security News - SC Magazine UK: "'Radical changes in the information environment have exposed a requirement for significant changes in the way law enforcement organisations address the ever-higher workloads brought about by the increasing use of technology in all areas of crime,' says Dr Andrew Jones of BT. ‘The US has created a total of 10 Regional Computer Forensic Laboratories led by the FBI which act as a one-stop, full-service, fast-turnaround forensics laboratory and training centre devoted entirely to the examination of digital evidence in support of criminal investigations.' "

Computer Forensics Attorney Lawyer Tampa

Court Dismisses Complaint as Discovery Sanction for "Extensive and Egregious Misconduct" : Electronic Discovery Law

Plasse v. Tyco Elecs. Corp., 2006 WL 2623441 (D. Mass. Sept. 7, 2006).: "In this wrongful termination case, defendant Tyco sought to prove that plaintiff had misrepresented his credentials when he applied for employment. At issue were several versions of plaintiff’s resume, some of which had indicated he held an M.B.A.; plaintiff suggested those may have been submitted by “someone else,” possibly a recruiter or headhunter, and claimed he would have indicated he was only a “candidate” for an M.B.A. Previously, Tyco had filed a motion to dismiss the case, alleging that plaintiff had lied at his deposition and fabricated documents. The court denied the motion without prejudice, finding that the evidence was not sufficiently clear and convincing to justify such a serious sanction.

Tyco then moved to compel the production of plaintiff’s laptop and further deposition testimony. The court granted Tyco's motion over plaintiff's objection, and ordered that plaintiff to submit to a further deposition by July 22, 2005, for the sole purpose of identifying computers and other media storage devices used by him during relevant time periods, and produce, by July 29, 2005, all computers and media storage devices presently in his possession, under his control or accessible to him, for inspection by Tyco’s expert.

The forensic inspection of plaintiff’s laptop and disks showed evidence of tampering, including: deleted resumes, system date and time manipulations, access histories showing that various relevant documents were accessed after the court’s order and before plaintiff’s second deposition, and other fragments of relevant documents and emails that had not been produced. Tyco filed a renewed motion to dismiss the complaint, alleging that plaintiff: (1) testified falsely during his deposition; (2) fabricated a resume to support his false testimony; and (3) deliberately deleted, destroyed, or concealed documents after he was put on notice that such documents were relevant. Tyco argued that the only appropriate sanction for plaintiff’s acts was dismissal of his complaint and an award of attorney's fees and expert costs.

The court agreed . . . ."

Cybercrime and Cybersecurity

A Cybersecurity Pro Talks Shop: "Small businesses are increasingly being targeted with viruses and identity theft. This former White House adviser offers tips on playing defense . . . Howard Schmidt, former White House cybersecurity adviser (he served as vice-chair of the President's Critical Infrastructure Protection Board for 15 months, from 2002 to 2003) and current president and CEO of R&H Security Consulting, which works in both the public and private sectors, knows computer security inside and out.

He started working in the industry before it was big, as a city police officer in 1983, and spearheaded cybersecurity innovations in the both the public and private sector, most notably at the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, where he established the first dedicated computer forensic lab in the government. Schmidt also served as chief security officer for Microsoft (MSFT) from 1997 to 2002, and was vice-president, chief information security officer, and chief security strategist for eBay (EBAY) from 2003 to 2005.

Schmidt says that while small businesses have been slow to catch up to the security advances made by their larger counterparts, new technology allows them to employ the same level of protection affordably. Further, he says that now is the time to do it, since criminals are increasingly targeting small businesses with viruses, spamming, bot networks (where computers are co-opted and used to send spam or take over other systems), and identity theft (see BusinessWeek.com, 7/17/06, 'The Plot to Hijack Your Computer'). "

Is this the sign-off for the signature?

No Signature on Credit Cards

"The signature, that individual mark of integrity, will soon suffer another blow as shopping loses its personal touch. In the name of cutting down on fraud, credit-card users will be required to key in their personal identification numbers instead of signing sales receipts.

The change, which is expected to be rolled out in Canada by 2010, is another step in the decline of the business signature, which has been waning in recent years because of the increase in e-mail, online shopping, automated signature generators and gasoline retailers' pay-at-the-pump systems. 'The almighty signature is disappearing,' said Ruth Holmes, a Michigan-based handwriting examiner who does forensic analysis and personality assessments for clients across North America. "

Computer Internet Lawyer Attorney Tampa

Computer Forensics Tampa - Banks and Forensics

Trinidad and Tobago's Newsday : newsday.co.tt :: "Banks are pouring money into building formidable defences against computer hackers but are only just waking up to what may be a bigger threat — the physical theft of client information by criminals in the office.
“You can have a fortress-like security system, but if you are not terribly discriminating with consultants and temporary employees, that is a terrible vulnerability,” said Carmen Oveissi Field, a New York-based consultant on computer crime.

“If people can get physical access (to a bank’s systems), the game is over,” said Oveissi Field, managing director of Daylight Forensic and Advisory, a security consultancy.

Banks, especially in Europe and the United States, are investing vast sums to make computer systems impregnable and have been warning customers of the dangers of being duped into giving away confidential information about their accounts. "

Computer Lawyer Tampa - Job-Hoppers, Take a Tip from the Bratz

Job-Hoppers, Take a Tip from the Bratz"In toy stores, she's a dancing princess, a mermaid, or a hip teenager. But behind the scenes, Barbie is kicking down doors and taking names. In a 58-page complaint filed Nov. 20 in federal court in Riverside, Calif., Mattel (MAT), Barbie's parent, accuses nemesis Isaac Larian, father of the phenomenally successful Bratz dolls, and a number of former Mattel employees of breach of contract, theft of trade secrets, copyright infringement, and racketeering. In making its case, Mattel had federales raid the Mexican offices of Larian's company, MGA Entertainment, and applied forensic computer techniques to what they found. "

To Catch Crooks In Cyberspace, FBI Goes Global - Preview

"ANKARA, Turkey -- On Aug. 16, 2005, a CNN television news bulletin alerted viewers that computers at the network's New York and Atlanta offices were infected with a new virus called Zotob. Soon, U.S. companies from coast to coast were hit. Halfway around the world, two young computer hackers in Turkey and Morocco got spooked by the ensuing media coverage, but mocked the ability of authorities to track them down. 'They can't find me,' wrote Atilla Ekici, a 23-year-old Turk, in an email to his accomplice, a 19-year-old Moroccan called Farid Essebar. 'Ha, ha, ha,' replied Mr. Essebar. . . "

Florida Cyber Crime Unit Gets State-of-the-Art Tool

Tallahassee Police Department Cyber Crimes Unit tallahassee.com - www.tallahassee.com

"Hard drive duplication is one of the first and most necessary steps required to perform an in-depth computer crimes investigation. Without evidence of a crime being committed, it is nearly impossible to successfully prosecute a case. Crime laboratory technicians duplicate the hard drive copying all of the data to a 'clean' drive for forensic analysis. . . .

The Logicube Forensic Talon is a high-tech portable hard drive duplication system that is deployed to the scene of a cyber crime. Without seizing the business's affected computer, investigators connect it to the Logicube. The Logicube accesses the target computer's hard drive and scans all of the data on the disc at the bit (ones and zeroes) level. Based on the scan of the target hard drive, the Logicube generates a unique, secure, non-duplicatable number-letter combination using a mathematical algorithm. The instrument then forensically duplicates the contents of the target hard drive copying it to a "clean" hard drive attached to the Logicube.

At the completion of the process the Logicube then scans the resulting copy of the hard drive and generates a second unique number-letter combination using the same mathematical algorithm. The two generated number letter combinations from the target computer and the forensic duplicate are compared and if they are the same number then the duplication was successful and the resultant evidence can be used for prosecution."

Secret Service Investigates

Secret Service Investigates Computer Server Attack at Georgetown University - Government Technology: "Georgetown University announced Friday that the Secret Service is investigating an attack on a server containing personally identifiable information -- such as name, date of birth and Social Security numbers -- relating to more than 41,000 individuals who may have received services from the District of Columbia Office on Aging. The intrusion came from outside the University from an individual who did not have permission to access the data. "

Computer Forensic Services

Nowhere to Hide

Legal IT: "The forensic investigation of data held on computers, laptops, cellular telephones, PDAs and other data processing and storage devices is a valuable resource in litigation and for dispute resolution. The recovery of deleted e-mails, and data cached to disk about which the user of the computer is una-ware, has proved a "quick kill" in many instances.

Where fraud, dishonesty or deception is suspected, it is always advisable to seek the disclosure of the computers or other devices upon which any suspect documentation or correspondence may have originated or resides. These should be subjected to a thorough forensic investigation.

As an example, it is important for litigators to understand that a printed document may be a deliberate deception and that the electronic or soft copy of that document may yield compelling evidence to show this. Metadata and other coding, not immediately apparent, can be examined to ascertain a wealth of information about the origination and subsequent evolution of any particular file. "

Coomputer Forensic Services

Stop Junk Faxes

"If you've got a fax machine, you've probably heard from companies that want to help you refinance your mortgage, lose weight fast and buy cheap office supplies. Some of them may even want to cut you in on the investment deal of a lifetime.

Most junk faxes are illegal. If you've never had a business relationship with the sender or given permission to have faxes sent to you, the fax is against federal law. In addition, investment-related faxes may violate securities law.

Recipients often get very frustrated.

Consider a lawsuit. If you're so inclined, you can save your faxes and contact a lawyer who takes this type of case on a contingency basis, getting paid only if you win. A simple violation can be worth $500 per page.

"We normally don't have to go to trial on them," said Clearwater lawyer James Thomas, who said the offenders typically settle. He said companies that knowingly break the law can be hit for triple damages of up to $1,500 per page.

Thomas said he relies on an extensive database and "trade secrets" to identify offenders and then collect from them."

Sources of Information:

Check out Mr. Thomas at his website, See also www.JunkFaxPrevention.com, Read more about junk faxes at www.junkfax.org and www.fcc.gov .

St Pete Times

Computer Forensics Lab for FBI

FBI Computer Forensics Lab

"Identity thieves, child pornographers, hackers, fraudsters and other cybercriminals have a new foe in town: a Cybercrimes Command Center. The FBI is establishing the command center on the LSU campus, where it will be home to a task force of federal agents, city and parish detectives and forensic examiners who investigate computer-related crime. It also will house a laboratory capable of processing computer evidence for law-enforcement agencies throughout the region.

The FBI plans to spend $300,000 to renovate and equip the former Wetlands Biogeochemistry Laboratory near South Campus Drive. The 5,000-square-foot facility is expected to open sometime this fall."

Computer Forensic Services

Computer Forensic - Focusing on Linux, iPod, Xbox

Gov't Cyber-sleuths Focusing on Linux, iPod, Xbox

"Cyber-security and computer experts from the government and law enforcement are increasingly concerned with malicious code that runs on Linux and Apple Computer Inc.'s Mac OS X operating systems and threats posed by devices such as iPods and Xboxes.

Intensive courses on the Mac OS X and Linux operating systems, as well as iPods, were just a few of the offerings at a recent cyber-security conference sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense. Network administrators and cyber-investigators say they are increasingly being called on to investigate compromises of non-Windows operating systems and to analyze portable devices such as iPods, according to interviews with attendees by eWEEK.

Two, two-day courses at this year's conference taught attendees techniques for forensic analysis of Mac OS X and the open-source Linux operating system. . . .

[A]lternative computing platforms will come to play a bigger role in cyber-crimes and criminal investigations in the years to come. Devices such as the PlayStation Portable, which has a large hard drive and wireless capability, will become more common and more capable of carrying out or being targeted in online attacks . . . ."

Computer Forensic Services

Computer Forensic services - Child porn cases on hold

"Shortly after 1:30 a.m., "lickercat1982" uploaded an image to a Yahoo chat room. The image posted on the chat room "teen_girls_having_fun" was that of a naked young girl in what was described as a pornographic photo. Yahoo! Inc., the Internet provider, reported the discovery to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children as required by federal law.

It would take nearly two years after that report and countless hours of investigation before the Plymouth man behind the screen name "lickercat1982" would appear in court to face two counts of dissemination of child pornography. That lag, officials say, will only get longer. As authorities field a growing number of reports of suspected kiddie porn online, investigators say it is taking longer to get the right evidence for court action due to a shortage of computer forensic experts in the field."

The Enterprise

Computer Forensic Services

Hacker cracks police force network

"Thieves raid database favoured by law enforcement agencies

Major police forces across Canada, including the RCMP, OPP and the Toronto force, are among thousands of law enforcement agencies and forensic investigators whose private and financial information may have been stolen this month in a hacker attack, a published report says. Guidance Software, Inc., a private Pasadena, Calif., firm, said in a letter sent out to law enforcement agencies last week that thieves had raided its database sometime in November, stealing credit card numbers and in certain cases information such as addresses and telephone numbers for 3,800 customers.
Guidance makes EnCase, a suite of forensic investigation software that has become the standard tool used by computer crime units of police, insurance companies, banks and private computer forensics specialists."

TheStar.com

Computer Forensic Services - Federal Bureau of Investigation - Cyber Investigations

"The proper collection, preservation, and forensic analysis of evidence is a tremendous tool that must be fully exploited. Since its inception, the FBI has been the world leader in using science to solve crimes. During its first year of operation in 1932, the FBI's forensics unit conducted 963 examinations.

Currently, the FBI conducts more than one million forensic examinations annually. The types of forensic investigations conducted by the FBI include terrorism, espionage, public corruption, civil rights, criminal organizations and enterprises, white collar and violent crime. Not only has the volume of evidence received increased dramatically, but the complexity of the examination methods, as well as the complex nature of the investigations themselves have increased. Often, forensic analysis is the only means to provide conclusive information to a jury to assist them in their determination of guilt or innocence."

Computer Forensic Services

Computer Forensic Software Company Hacked

Computer Forensics Services Tools Maker Hacked

Guidance Software had to do a forensic investigation on its own systems after a hacker broke in and accessed records, including credit card data, of thousands of customers. . . .

Guidance, one of the leading sellers of software used to investigate computer crimes, sent out letters last week to inform its customers about the breach. Some customers have already reported fraudulent credit card charges. "There have been a handful of cases, but we're only two weeks into this, so I don't know the total size," Colbert said. . . .

Guidance's EnCase software is used by security researchers and law enforcement agencies worldwide. The Pasadena, Calif.-based company notified all its approximately 9,500 customers about the attack and has called in the U.S. Secret Service, which has started an investigation, Colbert said.

Computer Internet Lawyer Tampa

Computer Forensic Experts from FBI Investigate Failure of Dam

FBI investigates Taum Sauk failure

"The Missouri State Highway Patrol on Friday asked for the FBI to help with its investigation of Wednesday's breach in the Taum Sauk dam. Members of the Highway Patrol's Division of Drug and Crime Control, which is the department's investigative unit, were at the Taum Sauk plant on Friday. They are investigating to determine whether the failure of the dam and the computer-operated equipment was an accident or intentional, said Lt. Tim Hull, spokesman for the Highway Patrol.

[T]he FBI plans to send computer forensic investigators to examine the computerized equipment."

Computer Forensic Services

Computer Forensic Services - Hi-tech brings no easy solutions

"Some of the biggest headaches for fraud investigators and prosecutors stem from modern technology. June Philips of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions in Brisbane, Australia, said computer technology and software allowed the cheap, large scale production of forged documents.

'The quality of forged items from passports, driver's licenses to electricity bills is astounding. Identity fraud is one of the biggest growth areas,' she said at 12th annual Prosecution Conference yesterday. Ms Philips said large sums of money scammed from gullible investors could be transferred with breathtaking speed to offshore accounts from where they were difficult to recover. "In many cases they do involve the necessity for computer forensic skills and the obtaining of overseas evidence."

Computer Forensic Services

Fiji Times Online

Computer Forensic - Arrest in Minsk Belarus ICE investigation

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement "arrest was part of a global ICE investigation that focused on an Internet billing company based in Minsk, Belarus, the news release said. In January 2004, the Belarus company was charged with money laundering, providing credit card billing services for 50 child pornography Web sites worldwide and operating its own child pornography Web sites, the release said. After the enterprise was dismantled, ICE agents focused their investigation on the customers who purchased the child pornography subscriptions, the release said."

Computer Forensic - Arrest in Minsk Belarus ICE investigation

Computer Forensics - Computer holds a clue, this lab will find it

If a computer holds a clue, this lab will find it $4 million investment cracks big cases

By TONY RIZZO
The Kansas City Star

What's the best way to get into a criminal's head? One group of area sleuths knows: Get into their computers.

That's what the men and women assigned to the Heart of America Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory do every day in their high-tech search for evidence of crimes. The partnership between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies was one of the first of its kind in the country. After two years of operation, it can boast of helping crack some of the region's most infamous recent crimes."

Kansas City Star

Computer Forensics - Best Buy 'hacker' loses in court

"Excerpt from appeals court's opinion:

'An FBI computer forensic expert found three of the e-mails and other incriminating documents on the hard drive of Ray's computer. The expert testified the e-mails and documents were created by someone typing on that computer and that someone had logged onto the Internet from that computer using the screen name and password used to send the e-mails. The expert also stated there was no evidence of any type of remote access or hacking found on Ray's computer. In addition, the evidence showed Ray had the knowledge and ability to process the monetary transactions he demanded in the extortion e-mails. . . .

The appeals court rejected his arguments and upheld an 18-month prison sentence and restitution to Best Buy of $87,398. Ray also is sentenced to a three-year supervised release, which includes no possession of any "electronic device with access to any online computer service" without explicit permission."

From ZDNet

FBI Mission - Federal Bureau of Investigation - Cyber Investigations

Federal Bureau of Investigation - Computer Forensic Services:

"The mission of the FBI Cyber Division is to:

- coordinate, supervise and facilitate the FBI's investigation of those federal violations in which the Internet, computer systems, or networks are exploited as the principal instruments or targets of terrorist organizations, foreign government sponsored intelligence operations, or criminal activity and for which the use of such systems is essential to that activity;

- form and maintain public/private alliances in conjunction with enhanced education and training to maximize counterterrorism, counter-intelligence, and law enforcement cyber response capabilities; and

- until such time as a final decision is made regarding the future role and location of the National Infrastructure Protection Center (NIPC), the FBI will direct and coordinate the Center's mission to protect the Nation's critical information infrastructure and other key assets."

Computer Forensic Services

Computer Forensic - Federal Bureau of Investigation - Cyber Investigations

"The FBI plays two very important roles in cyberspace. First, it is the lead law enforcement agency for investigating cyber attacks by foreign adversaries and terrorists. The potential damage to the United States' national security from a cyber-based attack includes devastating interruptions of critical communications, transportation, and other