Internet Forensics Needs a National Web Hub for Law Enforcement

Last Updated on Friday, 12 February 2010 02:10 Written by kelly.solid Friday, 12 February 2010 02:10

A recent survey indicated that cybercrime personnel are becoming more and more frustrated with the timeliness of receiving subpoenaed information back from ISPs.  The article that I read stated that the survey based on questionnaires completed by 100 police investigators (authored by Frank Kardasz of the Phoenix PD), “says that 61 percent of them had their investigations harmed “because data was not retained” and only 40 percent were satisfied with the timeliness of responses from Internet providers.” The survey also stated that “89 percent of investigators agreed that a nationwide computer network should be established for the purpose of linking ISPs with law enforcement agencies so that they may exchange legal process requests and responses to legal process. Authorized users would communicate through encrypted virtual private networks in order to maintain the security of the data.”

Although there are a few ISP companies that offer a web interface to subpoena data (Sprint is one of them), there is no excitement in the ISP world for setting up a national system to handle this type of data.  There are too many security and privacy issues to overcome.  This is exacerbated by a recent Justice Department’s 289 page report that claimed the “FBI obtained Americans’ telephone records by citing nonexistent emergencies and simply asking for the data or writing phone numbers on a sticky note rather than following procedures required by law.”

Maybe a national web interface is not the answer, but a better system needs to be put in place to allow law enforcement to obtain legal and timely information from ISPs and the Social Networks (Facebook, Myspace, etc.) to assist them in solving their cases.

List of Digital Forensics Degrees

Last Updated on Monday, 25 January 2010 09:14 Written by daniel.solid Monday, 25 January 2010 09:14

I was having a hard time finding a list of forensics & investigation related degrees, until I saw this new update from Forensic Focus.  As an author and businessman in the forensics industry, I am making it a goal to connect with most of the faculty running these programs.  I think you should, too.

In fact, I called the computer forensics department at the University of Central Florida – which is about 45 minutes North of here -  the other day and made some fantastic connections.  You guys know who you are.

Often times, these programs offer valuable resources for local law enforcement.  Faculty often volunteer at the local sheriff’s department to help with data collection and extraction.

More than just getting help on individual cases, though, nearby collegiate forensics programs offer a tremendous resource when it comes to staying on top of the latest techniques and technology.  It is their full-time job to stay on top of the operating systems, software, hardware, networking, data-basing, and other related digital forensics issues.  Although law enforcement often like to think that they are the experts, a dose of humility and an ability to ask the right questions can yields some enlightening ideas.

Another opportunity for local law enforcement – and even state agencies for that matter – to take advantage of in their local university is to provide internship opportunities for students.  Not only does it provide a fantastic chance to get some good PR, but in many case, the students need on-the-job training to earn necessary credits.  Therefore, the students are very incentivised to offer some worthwhile help.

Forensic Focus has made an effort to collect a list of computer forensic degrees – and it seems to be a relatively complete list.  Check it out on their course directory.  This nice, state-by-state list makes it easy to see where your nearest forensics course offerings are located.