Posted by: admin
on 24 January 2011
Conviction Reversed — During a computer forensics examination for alleged fraud, multiple images of child pornography were discovered on defendant's computer. A second search warrant was obtained and a federal forensics examiner eventually uncovered over 150 images of child pornography. Defendant was ultimately charged with one count of "knowingly received and attempted to receive one or more visual depictions [of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct]," i.e., two Web site banners containing sexually explicit images of children.
Posted by: Frederick Lane
on 01 December 2009
There is a tendency on the part of some lawyers, judges, and juries to treat evidence retrieved through computer forensics as somehow more credible than traditional, non-electronic evidence. The process of retrieving seemingly invisible data from the electronic void gives it a somewhat mystic quality that can blind factfinders to its real worth.
Posted by: Frederick Lane
on 03 October 2009
A massive investigation by federal, state, and local law enforcement officials led to the arrest last week of Najibullah Zazi, 24, on charges that he was preparing to manufacture and use the same type of explosives used in the London subway bombings in 2005.
Posted by: Frederick Lane
on 03 September 2009
In an unpublished decision issued yesterday, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the "dominion and control" test for determining whether images of child pornography were properly admitted at trial. United States v. Jackson, No. 08-30370 (9th Cir. Sept. 2, 2009).
Posted by: Frederick Lane
on 12 November 2008
There is growing awareness that the trend towards inclusion of a "private browsing" in Web browsers may make it more difficult (or at least less fruitful) to conduct computer forensic examinations in the future.
On the TechRepublic website, Tom Olzak, Director of Information Security at HCR Manor Care in Ohio, has a new blog posting entitled "How do new private browsing capabilities affect forensics?" He provides a brief overview of how the new feature will work in the various browsers and then discusses some of the implications for computer forensic examiners and corporate IT departments.
Posted by: Frederick Lane
on 08 November 2008
A British data recovery firm, Disklabs Data Recovery and Computer Forensics Services, reports that nearly 70% of hard drives and flash drives purchased at random on eBay contained pornographic files.
Many of the drives also still contained valid work files containing personal information on CVs and in spreadsheets. In addition, most of the previous owners had not taken the steps necessary to wipe out the Internet cache files, which frequently retain highly personal information: user IDs, passwords, birthdates, and credit card numbers, all of which can be used to commit identity theft.
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