DFRWS Continues to Guide the Digital Forensic Research Agenda

By Chet Hosmer

For almost a decade, the Digital Forensic Research Workshop (DFRWS) has defined the path forward through their annual conference, technical working groups, and challenges. Its 9th annual conference, held this year in downtown Montreal, August 17-19, was no exception.

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Maintenance and Validation of Tableau Forensic Hardware

Forensic examiners often have one opportunity to image hard-drives. Imaging hard-drives and other storage devices requires equipment that is fast, reliable, and ready for the next acquisition. Updating your Tableau products with the most current firmware and validating proper device operation are important elements of long-term equipment maintenance. When you buy a Tableau write-blocker, you get access to Tableau software applications which enhance long-term performance and value of your Tableau purchase.

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Sex Assault Footage Left on Mobile Phone

Footage of a sick sexual assault of a five-year-old girl was discovered on a mobile phone which had been left in a repossessed car in Northampton, England.

northampton chronicle & echo

A Lawsuit Tries to Get at Hackers through the Banks They Attack

A lawsuit against some of the most shadowy Internet criminals — Eastern European gangs that hack into business computers, steal banking passwords, and transfer themselves money — is being used to pry information from a group nearly as reclusive as the hackers: banks whose computers have been compromised.

new york times

FBI Computer Forensics Labs

Domestic terrorists, kidnappers, identity thieves: these are just of a few of those brought to justice with the help of the FBI’s Regional Computer Forensics Laboratories. The Bureau provides start-up and operational funding, training, equipment, a director, and a network administrator; law enforcement agencies supply forensic examiners to staff the lab.

fbi

Three Indicted in Theft of 130 Million Card Numbers

The man who masterminded some of the most brazen thefts of credit and debit card numbers in history was charged on Monday with an even larger set of digital break-ins. Albert Gonzalez and two unnamed Russian conspirators stole more than 130 million credit and debit card numbers.

new york times

Military Information Security Command Opens for Business at Lackland AFB

The U.S. Air Force ended two years of confusion and controversy by designating the 24th Air Force at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, as its official operational cyber security center, consolidating all U.S. military cyberspace operations and computer security.

military & aerospace electronics

DFI News™ Sponsors Full Scholarships to the Techno Forensics & Digital Investigations Conference

DFI News™, in partnership with TheTrainingCo. — producers of the annual Techno Forensics & Digital Investigations Conference in Gaithersburg, MD — is sponsoring a limited number of scholarships available to DFI News subscribers for this year's conference being held on October 26 - 28, 2009.

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Westwood College Introduces Computer Forensics Degree

To help meet the needs of a fast-changing world, Westwood College is launching a new Computer Forensics program in Information Technology. This program will prepare graduates to hit the ground running with job skills in this growing field.

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Guardian Digital Forensics Presents Talk Forensics Expert Series

Guardian Digital Forensics creators of the popular internet based radio talk show Talk Forensics is proud to announce the Talk Forensics Expert Series beginning October 5, 2009. Each one day seminar will feature an industry expert and has been approved to provide CLE and CEU credits.

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Boom and Bust: E-Discovery Industry Seeing Slower Growth

A funny thing happened on the way to amending the federal Rules of Civil Procedure in 2006: That watershed event triggered a surge of investment in e-discovery software and services, fueling a mini tech bubble. But growth has slowed sharply from annual rates of more than 40% just a few years ago.

aba journal

Do We Need A U.N. Cyber Security Council?

By Ben Bain and Doug Beizer

The international community urgently needs an organization to provide risk advisories on cyber threats and an international force to respond to cyberattacks against governments, according to a new study by the U.S. Cyber Consequences Unit, an independent, nonprofit research institute.

federal computer week

Wiping Hard Drive… Do You Need Thermite?

Every week, or possibly every day, there are new forums where people (with little to no experience with data recovery) discuss the merits of different methods of wiping data. One of the frequent conclusions is that data cannot be deleted or wiped and thermite is the only answer.

data-where is it?

The Whole Truth

I had a case where my client’s computer was placed under a preservation order by the courts. He was prohibited from deleting any files on his computer. I performed a forensic examination of his computer hard drives and found no evidence that he had deleted anything. The opposing expert disagreed.

data recovery & computer forensics blog