Legal Process
The Lead
Proper Legal Authority Is Necessary for a Cell Phone Examination
May 2, 2013 7:19 pm | Articles | Comments
Like computer evidence, it is necessary to have proper legal authority to conduct a forensic examination of cellular phones and handheld devices. Cell phones lawfully may be searched without a warrant only if the search is ‘substantially contemporaneous’ with the arrest.
Proper Legal Authority Is Necessary for a Cell Phone Examination
May 2, 2013 7:19 pm | Articles | Comments
Like computer evidence, it is necessary to have proper legal authority to conduct a forensic...
Stressing Demeanor Credibility: Continued Impacts of Melendez-Diaz for Forensic Scientists
August 7, 2012 8:00 pm | by Ronald K. Bullis, Ph.D., J.D. | Articles | CommentsJudges and juries listen and look very closely to demeanor evidence to assess the credibility of...
Dispelling Common Myths of Live Digital Forensics
May 30, 2012 1:19 pm | by Matthew J. Decker, Warren G. Kruse II, Bill Long, Greg Kelley | Articles | Comments
If your forensic processes preclude the use of evidence recovered through live digital forensics...
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Facebook, Microsoft Release Number of Data Requests from Government
June 17, 2013 12:02 pm | by Cecilia Kang | News | CommentsFacebook and Microsoft for the first time have said they had gotten data requests from the government under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, but they added that the U.S. government did not permit them to provide specific figures. The companies said some of the requests were for terrorism investigations. But others were from a local sheriff asking for data to locate a missing child or from federal marshals tracking fugitives.
Eight Charged for Hacking US Payroll, Financial Firms
June 14, 2013 7:50 am | News | CommentsU.S. prosecutors have announced fraud and other charges against eight alleged members of an international cyber crime ring that the government said hacked into the computers of more than a dozen leading financial institutions and the U.S. military's payroll service.
Secret Surveillance Court May Reveal Some Secrets
June 13, 2013 5:05 pm | by Somini Sengupta | Blogs | CommentsThe secret court that adjudicates national security-related information requests lifted the veil on its operations a tiny bit, ruling that portions of one of its earlier opinions could be disclosed to the public. The ruling came in a case by the San Francisco-based Electronic Frontier Foundation.
Computer Forensics Experts Tie Manning to Database Breach
June 10, 2013 3:44 pm | News | CommentsComputer forensic experts testified that they traced a break-in to a secret U.S. government website to Bradley Manning, the U.S. soldier charged with the biggest leak of classified files in the nation's history. Government witnesses told the court-martial that they had traced breaches of the U.S. government's secret Intelink intelligence database to Manning's user name and Internet Protocol address.
US Declassifies Phone Program Details after Uproar
June 7, 2013 10:16 am | by Donna Cassata and Josh Lederman | News | CommentsThe top U.S. intelligence official is declassifying key details about a secret surveillance program — a rare move meant to tamp down a public uproar spurred by the disclosure of the government's massive collection of Americans' data, aimed at combating terrorism.
Administration Defends Collecting Phone Records
June 6, 2013 9:44 am | by Julie Pace | News | CommentsThe Obama administration recently defended the National Security Agency's need to collect telephone records of U.S. citizens, calling such information "a critical tool in protecting the nation from terrorist threats." While defending the practice, a senior administration official did not confirm a newspaper report that the NSA has been collecting the telephone records of millions of U.S. customers of Verizon under a top secret court order.
Cyber Specialist to Testify at US Soldier's WikiLeaks Trial
June 4, 2013 11:09 am | by Ian Simpson | News | CommentsThe court-martial of a soldier charged with using the WikiLeaks website for the biggest leak of classified information in U.S. history heads into a second day, with a cyber crime investigator the day's lead-off witness. Special Agent David Shaver from the Army Computer Crimes Investigation Unit, an expert on cyber crime, will be the first witness called.
Google to Remain Gagged
June 3, 2013 12:01 pm | by Zack Whittaker | News | CommentsGoogle has lost its case against the FBI's secret warrantless requests for citizen's private and sensitive data, despite its claims — and a prior court decision that has yet to be appealed or go into effect — that the secret "gagging orders" are illegal.
Maine House Backs Warrant for Cellphone Tracking Bill
June 3, 2013 11:36 am | by Christopher Cousins | News | CommentsMaine would become the first state to require law enforcement to obtain a warrant for tracking the location of cellphones under a measure that has passed through the House of Representatives. The House’s action followed a previous Senate vote by overturning a committee recommendation on the issue of cellphone privacy.
Lulzsec Hacker Pleads Guilty
May 29, 2013 3:47 pm | by Nicole Perlroth and Colin Moynihan | Blogs | CommentsJeremy Hammond of Chicago, a member of the Lulzsec hacking collective, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to conspiring to attack a global intelligence firm. As a crowd of supporters watched, Hammond, 28, pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiracy to engage in computer hacking.
Email Privacy Bill Sent to Texas Governor’s Desk
May 29, 2013 10:35 am | by Cyrus Farivar | News | CommentsAssuming that Texas Governor Rick Perry does not veto it, the Lone Star State appears set to enact the nation’s strongest email privacy bill. The proposed legislation requires state law enforcement agencies to get a warrant for all emails regardless of the age of the email.
NYPD Detective Spies on Fellow Officers
May 24, 2013 10:50 am | News | CommentsThe FBI has arrested a New York City police detective for stealing the login details of at least 30 people (including 21 NYPD employees, 19 of them officers), across 43 email accounts and one cell phone. He did it by hiring a contract hit man, of sorts.
Lawmakers Introduce Bill Requiring Court Order to Seize Phone Records
May 17, 2013 10:23 am | by Kim Zetter | News | CommentsIn the wake of the AP scandal, in which federal investigators obtained the phone records of journalists using only a subpoena, four lawmakers have introduced legislation in the House that would prevent federal agencies from seizing any phone records without a court order.
Lulzsec Hackers Sentenced
May 16, 2013 4:09 pm | by Peter Bright | News | CommentsThe four British Lulzsec hackers — Mustafa "tflow" al-Bassam, Ryan "kayla" Ackroyd, Jake "topiary" Davis, and Ryan "ViraL" Cleary — were sentenced to between 20 and 32 months in jail for crimes committed during Lulzsec's 50 day hacking spree in 2011. The handling of charges of conspiracy to commit fraud brought against all four was also an important issue.
Applying the New Science of Metaphors to Forensic Science Testimony
April 23, 2013 3:35 pm | by Ronald K. Bullis, Ph.D., J.D. | Articles | CommentsUsing metaphors to explain concepts and data enhances the scientific testimony’s impact, meaning, and memory-value.
Incorporating Extrinsic Evidence into the Digital Forensics Investigation
February 8, 2013 11:30 am | by Sean L. Harrington | Articles | CommentsExtrinsic evidence can be a means to helping the examiner refine or interpret what was found (or not found) on the media, the subject of the investigation.
Acceptability of Digital Evidence
February 5, 2013 6:58 am | Videos | CommentsGary Kessler explores the acceptability of digital evidence in court as regards the Federal Rules of Evidence.
A Road Map for Attaining ISO/IEC 17025:2005 (ISO 17025) Accreditation: How to Move Forward
August 14, 2012 8:00 pm | by Dorothy E. Gill BS, BA, MS | Articles | CommentsThe purpose of this article is to provide laboratories with an overview of a logical sequence towards, and identify the prerequisites required for, accreditation.
Validating Proprietary Digital Forensic Tools: A Case for Open Source
December 13, 2011 8:24 am | by Cory AltheideChrista M. Miller | Articles | CommentsOpen source forensic tools may not be easy to work with, but can save a lot of grief down the road when used to validate results from proprietary tools.
Applying Melendez: Briscoe and Beyond
August 17, 2011 6:58 am | by Ronald K. Bullis, Ph.D., J.D. | Articles | CommentsA look at the effects of Briscoe v. Virginia and subsequent case law on the enforcement and application of Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts.
Preparing For and Testifying At Trial
August 10, 2011 4:30 am | by Bruce A. Olson | Articles | CommentsThe final function of an expert witness is to testify live at trial. It is your chance to influence the judge and jury who will ultimately make the key decisions in the case. In many cases what you say and do at trial will make or break the case.
Expert Witness: Preparing for and Testifying at Depositions
July 27, 2011 9:38 am | by Bruce A. Olson | Articles | CommentsYour deposition is the first opportunity an opposing attorney has to meet you in person and to examine you in a question-and-answer format. You should listen to the question and provide only as much testimony as is necessary to respond truthfully to the question.
Preparing an Expert Report
July 13, 2011 8:47 am | by Bruce A. Olson | Articles | CommentsIn most cases a computer forensic expert is called upon to prepare a written report before testifying in court. The report must contain specified items. The key is providing enough information to meet the requirements without providing too much information, setting you up for more cross examination.
New Federal Rules of Civil Procedure That Apply To Expert Witnesses
July 6, 2011 7:54 am | by Bruce A. Olson | Articles | CommentsRule 26 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure was amended in 2010, and as of December 1, 2010, the changes to the rule have significantly altered the type and scope of information that can be obtained from an expert witness in the course of discovery.
How to Be an Effective Expert Witness in Court: Part 3
June 19, 2011 8:00 pm | by Bruce A. Olson | Articles | CommentsBefore you can be offered as an expert you must establish your qualifications. In federal court you must be able to meet the reliability standards defined in Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharm.
