Losing a loved one is never easy. As you are going through the process of saving cherished memories, you may encounter much more data than you ever thought could exist. Such is the reality of the world we live in dominated by digital photographs, videos and social media. Your loved one may have countless photos, videos, messages and other memories on mobile devices, computers and social media that you would like to preserve and capture. Performing such a task yourself during this time is overwhelming to most people, leaving them unsure of where or how to start.

If you need help preserving your loved one’s electronic memories, we are introducing a new service that does just that, Preserving a Digital Legacy. The digital forensic experts at Sensei Enterprises would be honored to assist you and your family with preserving the digital assets that your loved one has left behind.

If you are looking for assistance in navigating your loved one’s electronic data, please contact us to learn more about what we can do to help you through this difficult process.

Email: sensei@senseient.com   Phone: 703.359.0700
Digital Forensics/Cybersecurity/Information Technology
https://senseient.com/services/digital-forensics/

The West Midlands Police department of Birmingham England has been receiving quite a bit of attention, and a significant amount of criticism, since posting a job opening in their Digital Forensics Team.

The posting, found here, describes an unpaid volunteer position in which the applicant would be expected to “provide specialist technical support enabling the recovery, processing and viewing of data from various sources”. Provided the volunteers receive the necessary training to assist in these types of matters, many have still raised concerns with the possible issues that could arise from having unpaid interns handling  the intake, storage and review of evidence. What has proved to be especially concerning to many is that the posting states “Applicants must be aware they will routinely come across distressing imagery including indecent images, fatal road traffic accidents, live CCTV footage recovery of incidents.” Indecent images has been perceived by many to indicate images involving child abuse and pornography.

A former West Midlands Police forensic officer’s story of her experience working in the unit was published by the BBC and can be found here. The former officer eventually chose to quit the position after being diagnosed with PTSD from her role collecting evidence. Her story serves as a cautionary tale for prospective volunteers. For their part the West Midlands Police say that all of their staff and volunteers have access to counsellors 24 hours a day and that enhanced checks are carried out on individuals who perform review of potentially disturbing images. 

Email: sensei@senseient.com   Phone: 703.359.0700
Digital Forensics/Cybersecurity/Information Technology
https://senseient.com/services/digital-forensics/

Modern day criminal investigations are increasingly reliant upon online evidence, which may be stored internationally and require months of judicial process to gain access to. Negotiations are set to begin between the European Union and the United States to speed up the process by which electronic evidence is exchanged between nations in criminal investigations.

Currently, the US must abide by EU data protection laws, which can complicate the process in turning over electronic evidence involving EU citizens. The proposed agreement re-works this framework to allow for a more efficient exchange of evidence without the legal risk for U.S. companies. The agreement also focuses on gaining direct cooperation with international internet service providers to shorten the time required to obtain the requested information.

European Commissioner Julian King made a statement on the importance of the negotiations: “For far too long, criminals and terrorists have been abusing modern technology to commit their crimes. By setting international standards to obtain access to electronic evidence, we are taking yet another step to close the space in which they operate by ensuring law enforcement authorities can more effectively investigate and prosecute them, with full regard for fundamental rights.”

While the thought of an increased speed of evidence exchange sounds beneficial, citizens’ rights to data protection and privacy must prioritized. For this reason, it is suspected negotiations will take a considerable amount of time to reach a conclusion.

Email: sensei@senseient.com   Phone: 703.359.0700
Digital Forensics/Cybersecurity/Information Technology
https://senseient.com/services/digital-forensics/

In October of 2018, Ho Ka Terence Yung pled guilty to cyberstalking the University of Texas alum who conducted interviews for admittance into school’s law program. While Yung did not get accepted into the UT law school program, he did get a full scholarship to attend another law school within the state of Texas.

While attending law school, he started to blame the alum who conducted the interview because he was not admitted into the UT program. He then proceeded to start an online campaign of cyber harassment against the alum that included posting violent and racist statements on multiple websites that were falsely attributed to the victim. One instance of the cyberharassment included Yung pretending to be a female candidate for admission claiming that she was sexually assaulted by the victim during the law school interview. Post were also created online claiming that the victim was accused of child molestation.

The FBI and local police worked together to gather electronic evidence in this case. According to the FBI, Yung had also placed ads on websites calling for people to show up at the victim’s home, which activity was ultimately traced back to his roommate’s computer.

The FBI and U.S. Attorney for Delaware obtained records that proved Yung had used his roommate’s computer and internet access, along with his work computer to commit the crime and conceal what he was doing.

Yung recently was sentenced to 46 months in prison.

Email: sensei@senseient.com   Phone: 703.359.0700
Digital Forensics/Cybersecurity/Information Technology
https://senseient.com/services/digital-forensics/

Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge Ronald E. Bush denied law enforcement’s request to demand the owner of a Google pixel to unlock her device with a fingerprint to allow for a forensic search.

The Idaho based case involves a suspect accused of possession of child pornography and an encrypted Google Pixel. The device was located at a property of interest, but was locked and unable to be searched. When law enforcement requested the owner of the device use their fingerprint to unencrypt its contents, the judge ruled that a search warrant lacks the authority to unlock devices with fingerprints, face recognition, or iris scanning.

Judge Bush cited the Fifth Amendment when making his decision, stating, “A fingerprint is testimonial information that an individual willingly gives to the government and can be withheld to protect the person from self-incrimination.” Demanding an individual to unlock a phone with biometric data would also breach the Fourth Amendment. The Fourth Amendment protects citizens from unreasonable searches. A breach of the Fifth Amendment would “inherently mean the search was unreasonable” stated Bush.

A similar ruling was made months prior when Judge Kandis Westmore in California ruled in favor of biometric protection for unreasonable searches by law enforcement.

Email: sensei@senseient.com   Phone: 703.359.0700
Digital Forensics/Cybersecurity/Information Technology
https://senseient.com/services/digital-forensics/

A 12-year-old boy was pronounced dead in an Indiana hospital on May 24, CNN reports. The boy, Eduardo Posso, showed signs of prolonged abuse, neglect and starvation. Investigators from the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, looking into the child’s death, found quite a bit of electronic evidence relevant to the investigation on both the father and stepmother’s electronic devices.

Through a probable cause affidavit, investigators found a video on the stepmother’s phone depicting the young boy restrained in a hotel bathroom. Investigators also uncovered pertinent text messages from the father’s phone, as well as a selfie of the Father with his son restrained in the bathtub. The two parents are alleged to have monitored the child remotely via video when they left the hotel room.

Along with the electronic evidence, investigators also retrieved cords, chains, restraints, and an electric shock collar underneath the bed in the hotel room. The boy’s father and stepmother are currently being held in the Monroe County Correction Center on $500,000 bond, and the three other children have been placed in the care of Child Protective Services (CPS).

Eduardo’s mother, who lives in Florida, was unaware that his father and stepmother had moved out of the state. She is encouraging others to speak up about child abuse after what has happened to her son.

Email: sensei@senseient.com   Phone: 703.359.0700
Digital Forensics/Cybersecurity/Information Technology
https://senseient.com/services/digital-forensics/

The attorney for actor Kevin Spacey has asked the court for a swift trial, stating his client is “suffering” while the case plays out. Kevin Spacey is facing criminal charges for allegedly groping a young man in a Nantucket bar back in 2016, and with it, up to two-and-half years in prison. The Judge has tentatively said the earliest trial date that can happen is in the fall. Further complicating the matter, in a recent motion filed by the Defense, they allege that the accuser deleted messages from his cell phone that support Spacey’s claim of innocence.

The prosecution disagrees with the claims and stated they already have an arrangement to provide the defense with a copy of the information extracted from the cell phone.

Complicating efforts are statements from the boy’s mother who told police that she removed information from her son’s cell phone regarding “frat boy activities” prior to turning it over in 2017 for analysis. There are screenshots of conversations between the victim and his girlfriend that were provided to the police but are no longer on the device.

Spacey’s counsel has requested physical access to the cell phone in an attempt to recover additional deleted messages. It’s unclear what type of phone is involved or if deleted content has already been turned over by the prosecution in their report.

The Judge will rule on the defense’s request at a later date.

Email: sensei@senseient.com   Phone: 703.359.0700
Digital Forensics/Cybersecurity/Information Technology
https://senseient.com/services/digital-forensics/

Within the digital forensics realm, it’s not uncommon for us to be asked whether or not we can determine if a photograph or image is fake or has been altered from its original state. Typically, the first place we look to analyze is the internal metadata of the file to determine if any of the values have been added, altered or been updated. Faking images is only getting easier to do, especially by the average user.

So, how do we combat this problem? Researchers at New York University’s Tandon School of Engineering recently authored a study – “Neural Imaging Pipelines – the Scorge or Hope of Forensics?” The basis of the study is that machine learning can be used to spot fake photos and suggests the detection method be included right into the source – the camera.

Essentially, every photo taken has a digital watermark to determine its authenticity, akin to a chain of custody, that can be used to determine whether the content is authentic. There is a lot of advanced technology in this study, including the usage of “neural imaging pipeline” that learns to include artifacts onto high-fidelity images during the processing of the image.

There are a couple of potential roadblocks to replacing well-established digital imaging technologies, and the foremost is whether camera manufacturers will employ photo processes using machine learning and the “neural imaging pipelines” needed to digitally watermark photographs during the imaging process.

There is a clear need to develop better processes to determine the authenticity of an image or photograph, but you can be sure the bad guys will figure out a way to circumvent the new technology.

Email: sensei@senseient.com   Phone: 703.359.0700
Digital Forensics/Cybersecurity/Information Technology
https://senseient.com/services/digital-forensics/

On May 17, 2019, a former CIA case officer was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for transferring information to an agent of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Kevin Mallory, of Leesburg, Virginia travelled to Shanghai to meet with an individual working for a Chinese think tank. Mallory quickly surmised that the individual was a Chinese intelligence officer working for the PRC Intelligence Service (PRCIS).

FBI investigators reviewed communications between Mallory and the Chinese intelligence officer on a Samsung Galaxy smartphone. Forensic analysis revealed numerous communications regarding classified information and that Mallory had succeeded in transmitting at least two documents to the intelligence officer. Communications about the documents were found as well.

Along with evidence recovered from his smartphone, evidence at the trial included surveillance video of Mallory at a FedEx store in Leesburg, Virginia scanning classified documents to a micro SD card. He paid the FedEx store to shred the physical documents, but after a search of his home, FBI agents were able to find the micro SD card containing the classified documents that he had previously scanned.

Email: sensei@senseient.com   Phone: 703.359.0700
Digital Forensics/Cybersecurity/Information Technology
https://senseient.com/services/digital-forensics/

A military prosecutor’s case may unravel after he purposefully sent an email infected with tracking software to the entire defense legal team.

The email, sent by Navy prosecutor Christopher Czaplak, tracks sent, received and forwarded email messages. The tracking software was sent to thirteen lawyers and paralegals involved in the Jacob Portier case. The email was also sent to a reporter with the Navy Times who had previously broken stories to the media regarding updates in the case. Previously, the Navy has acknowledged its investigation of document leaks in the case and it’s suspected the email tracking software was used in attempt to determine the source of the leaks.

The defense has demanded an investigation into the monitoring to determine who authorized the spying and what the limitations of the monitoring software are. Concerns have been raised that the tracking software is unethical and may have allowed access to other files on their computer systems and jeopardized confidential attorney-client communications.

Email: sensei@senseient.com   Phone: 703.359.0700
Digital Forensics/Cybersecurity/Information Technology
https://senseient.com/services/digital-forensics/