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Digital Dirt Blawg
Computer Forensics, Privacy & the Law
Tags >> e-mail(s)
Posted by: Frederick Lane
on 26 December 2009
A defense counsel request to conduct a forensic examination of a magistrate judge's computer and cellphone was firmly rejected by the District of Columbia Superior Court last week. The Court also rejected defense counsel's petition to have the entire Superior Court recuse itself from hearing the stalking complaint of their colleague, Magistrate Judge Janet Albert.
Posted by: Frederick Lane
on 30 October 2009
Earlier this month, the nation was temporarily captivated by the possibility that 6-year-old Falcon Heene had accidentally launched himself into the atmosphere on a homemade UFO-shaped balloon that traveled more than 50 miles from his Fort Collins, Colorado home. In addition to consuming vast quantities of the airwaves, the incident mobilized various National Guard and law enforcement units, and even shut down Denver International Airport briefly (the balloon ended its 2-hour flight just 12 miles from the airport).
Posted by: Frederick Lane
on 23 October 2009
The multi-faceted investigation into whether Boston mayoral aide Michael J. Kineavy in appropriately deleted emails in violation of the Massachusetts public records law is generating a small forest of statements from the principal players, but little additional information.
Posted by: Frederick Lane
on 08 October 2009
After a couple of days on the road to lecture on privacy in Houston, Texas, I thought it might the Boston City Hall email controversy might have quieted down. Fat chance. In typical Beantown fashion, however, the plot has thickened like unwatched chowder. Here are a few of the highlights: - Yesterday, top Menino aide Michael J. Kineavy, whose fastidious email deletions sparked the controversy, announced that he is taking an unpaid leave of absence. Kineavy told journalists that he has become an unnecessary distraction for the mayor, who is in the middle of a campaign for a record-breaking fifth term.
- In an editorial published the same day, the Boston Globe urged Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley to take over the investigation, in large part because her office has subpoena power that Secretary of State William Galvin lacks. Galvin initially launched the investigation when the Meninon administration claimed that it could not supply emails sought by the Globe in a public records request. With a second computer now in play, the Globe said, "[Coakley] needs to gain physical control of the physical hardware in this case before anything goes missing."
- Coakley is a leading Democratic contender in the upcoming U.S. Senate race to replace the recently-deceased Ted Kennedy, and undoubtedly would rather give up playoff tickets at Fenway than get involved in the swamp of Boston City Hall politics. But ignoring a formal request for assistance is not an option, so Coakley announced today that her office is working with Secretary of State Galvin to determine what action, if any, needs to be taken by her office. At the very least, it may give the attorney general a chance to use her new computer forensics lab for a high-profile case.
Not surprisingly, the Globe has used this as a teachable moment on the permanence of electronic data. It seems, however, that many people (including a number of public officials) are still under the impression that the "delete" key means what it says, despite considerable evidence to the contrary.
Posted by: Frederick Lane
on 06 October 2009
The simmering saga over missing emails from the employee mail account of Michael J. Kineavy, a close aide to Boston mayor Thomas Menino, was kicked up a notch yesterday by the revelation that an old computer of Kineavy's had been found in City Hall.
Posted by: Frederick Lane
on 29 September 2009
Proving yet again that "delete" is not a synonym for "destroy," at least in the context of electronic communications, Boston City Hall has released more than 5,000 emails sent by Michael J. Kineavy to other city employees. Kineavy is a top aide to Boston Mayor Thomas M. Meninon, and has been identified as a potentially relevant figure in the federal corruption investigation of former Massachusetts state senator Diane Wilkerson.
Posted by: Frederick Lane
on 22 September 2009
The conspiracy, securities fraud, and wire fraud trial of former Bear Sterns fund manager Matthew Tannin offers an object lesson for computer forensic specialists and electronic investigators on the fragility of cloud data. At issue, the Wall Street Journal reports, is whether the government can introduce evidence that Tannin deleted his Google mail account in March 2008, rendering the information unrecoverable for trial eighteen months later.
Posted by: Frederick Lane
on 19 September 2009
Four years ago, a 14-year-old woman known only by her initials, C.E., joking asked 18-year-old Jorge Canal to send her a cellphone photo of his penis. The practice of sending nude photos, now known as 'sexting,' was growing increasingly popular in their circle of friends.
Posted by: Frederick Lane
on 16 September 2009
Acting swiftly to comply with an order from Secretary of State William F. Galvin, the administration of Boston Mayor Thomas Menino has hired StoneTurn Group to search the hard drive of Menino aide Michael J. Kineavy. StoneTurn Group is an multinational firm offering specialized services in complex business litigation, forensic accounting, computer forensics, and employment litigation.
Posted by: Frederick Lane
on 15 September 2009
The administration of Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino has been ordered by Massachusetts Secretary of State William F. Galvin to secure various City Hall computers and hire a computer forensics firm to search for emails deleted by a top Menino aide, Michael J. Kineavy.
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