Forensic Blogs

An aggregator for digital forensics blogs

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Cybersecurity Tips For The New Year

2020 was a year filled with change and learning how to adapt our ways into COVID-19 protocol friendly ones. With these changes, many people started moving their lives to be online. Work meetings, education of all levels, shopping, and even holiday events became remote. With the increase in internet use, cybersecurity professionals saw cybercrimes committed at an all-time high.

That made this past Cybersecurity Awareness Month in October even more valuable than ever. The National Cyber Security Alliance, in partnership with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, created this year’s theme of “Do Your Part and Be Cyber Smart”.

Our Leahy Center employees decided to be apart of this semester’s virtual events by submitting their tips for the five topics of the do your part theme. For the New Year, we decided to share two of the themes and our tips on how to stay safe. The students range in different positions, majors, and academic years, but all provide great wisdom for anyone looking to stay safe online.

Theme 1: If You Connect It, Protect It

The prompt was described as If you connect it, protect it. The line between our online and offline lives is indistinguishable. This network of connections creates both opportunities and challenges for individuals and organizations across the globe. The first week of Cybersecurity Awareness Month will highlight how internet-connected devices have impacted our lives and will empower all users to own their role in security by taking steps to reduce their risks. Our students said:

“With more and more of our appliances connected to the internet, including locks, mailboxes, refrigerators, watches, and much more, physical security and cybersecurity are becoming the same. To maintain physical security in this world of smart devices, you have to educate yourself about good cybersecurity practices, too. As great as it is that you can lock your door remotely, it’s vital to consider the risks of what somebody could do with unauthorized access to these tools you’re using. Before buying a new smart device, consider these risks. Do some research on the manufacturer’s history in cybersecurity. Ask yourself if the convenience is worth the risks associated with it. Understanding the risks is crucial.”

Sawyer Zundel ’23 // Computer & Digital Forensics

We buy a lot of stuff online these days. Often we may be on a risky website without realizing it. If you are purchasing anything online, make sure the website’s link begins with “HTTPS://” as opposed to “HTTP://”. The “s” at the end of “HTTP” stands for secure. So any transitions on a website that uses “HTTP” would be unsecured. The Chrome and Firefox add-on/extensions “HTTPS everywhere” is a useful tool to help ensure this if you are unsure.

Blaise Notter ’23 // Computer Networking & Cybersecurity Theme 2: Securing Devices at Home and Work

Week 2 of Cybersecurity Awareness Month was described as: focusing on steps users and organizations can take to protect internet-connected devices for personal and professional use. With more people now working from home, these two internet-connected environments are colliding on a scale we’ve never seen before. This introduces a whole new set of potential vulnerabilities that users must be conscious of.

“The best way to protect users’ information is to be cautious. The first step would be to use a password when possible. Better yet different passwords so if one account is breached, they all aren’t. The next step would be to not give out information unless needed and to a trusted individual. This means not going to suspicious websites, where info can be stolen by force. As well as being cautious that a website is who they say they are.”

Spencer Bellucci ’22 // Computer Science

“Nowadays, VPN’s have gotten to the point where they are extremely cheap and relatively fast. Whether you are at home or surfing the internet at a Starbucks, the added protection is defiantly worth the $3 a month. It will protect you from various tracking threats/ annoyances by encrypting all of the traffic that leaves your computer. When shopping around for one, I would look for one that does not keep logs of its user’s data as well as has software that works on most devices. The two I have used and recommend the most are TorGuard and Private Internet Access (PIA).”

Thomas Autiello ’23 // Computer Networking & Cybersecurity Other Tips: Students WANT You To Know

With the rise in interconnected devices, it’s important to remember that anything connected to the outside world can be attacked. Taking simple steps such as secure passwords and using password-protected Wi-Fi signals can help immensely when it comes to the security of any device.

Miranda Evans ’22 // Computer & Digital Forensics

Most people keep their life online — whether it be through Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, or others — so it is always important to remember that the online world is no different than the “real” world. This includes the information you post publicly, from photos, dates, friends, statuses, addresses, and more. At face value, it is fun to use social media outlets to express yourself and snap a photo here and there or use it to promote communication, but everyone must do their part to protect themselves and those around them regarding the information they post. Would you post your phone number on your front lawn? Would you print a map of the local places you’ve been, and with whom, to hand out at your grocery store? Though this information is expressive and fun to share with friends, there are always opportunities for unwanted attention from others when you post it online.

Alexandra Cartwright ’22 // Computer & Digital Forensics

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The post Cybersecurity Tips For The New Year appeared first on The Leahy Center for Digital Forensics & Cybersecurity.

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Magnet User Summit 2019: Solving Cyber Crimes with the University of Notre Dame

Mitch Kajzer presented this talk at the Magnet User Summit. He is the director of the Cyber Crimes Unit in St. Joseph County, Indiana, and also an adjunct professor at Notre Dame. He talked about the changing nature of digital forensic investigations and how police agencies need to adapt. Technology is now involved in most crimes because each person has an average of 4.3 internet-connect devices. Typically major cases get forensic attention which prevents some digital forensics exams from happening. If they do, some have backlogs and wait times of months to years. The solution in St. Joseph County was to enlist the help of college students.

Partnering with the University of Notre Dame

Mitch talked about the partnership that the Cyber Crimes Unit has with the University of Notre Dame. They have a paid internship where students of any major train and receive background education in digital forensics and get to work in the Cyber Crimes Unit.

All students are sworn police investigators who work on the same cases officers work on. They provide analysis on digital devices, write search warrants, execute them, and even appear in court. Students are involved in 95% of the cases in the department, are primary investigators in about a third of these cases, and conduct 65% of all digital examinations. Mitch said that the students leverage AXIOM a lot for their investigations, and helps to create portable cases to show the digital analysis results to the officer/detective assigned to the case.

Since starting, St. Joseph County’s Cyber Crime Unit has gone from a turnaround of fourteen days and a backlog of thirty cases, to now having a turnaround of only four hours and no backlog at all. Students are having a direct impact on the digital investigations, and are solving cases by themselves. In addition, most of the intern workforce has been women, which is awesome for getting more women into this field. I asked Mitch at the end of the presentation whether or not there was a legal implication for all this. Does the evidence students find hold up in court? He told me there have been no implications because of the extensive training and certification all interns receive.

Conclusion

I think this model is really amazing and can clearly change the way digital investigations are done within police departments. I hope the country catches on to what incredible work is coming from the partnership between Notre Dame and St. Joseph County’s Cyber Crime Unit. I also think it would be interesting to see this model implemented in Burlington itself with Champlain students, especially those working at the Leahy Center for Digital Investigation (LCDI). The LCDI already does investigative work, but I think that if there was a partnership with the Burlington Police Department, it would help students gain real-life experience while helping out the local community.

 

Blog written by Champlain College fi-year Madi Brumbelow.

Be sure to check us out on Twitter @ChampForensics, Instagram @ChampForensics, and Facebook @Champlainforensics to see other important information pertaining to our project!

The post Magnet User Summit 2019: Solving Cyber Crimes with the University of Notre Dame appeared first on The Leahy Center for Digital Forensics & Cybersecurity.

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LCDI Intern Blog Series: All About My Internship

With Thanksgiving break getting closer and closer, I have been thinking a lot more about my internship and how it came to be after I got accepted. The first step to the internship process was attending a Town Hall for the LCDI. This was an orientation meeting for the entire workforce where we went over the in’s and out’s of the Center. This took place about a week after finding out that I got the internship. Later that week was my first day, where I was immediately thrown into the mix. There was’t much direction on what I was supposed to do, but some students who’d worked at the LCDI for awhile helped me get down to business.

Tools of the Trade

Some essentials when working at the LCDI are being able to use Trello and Slack, two apps used for all communication purposes. Trello is like a team checklist for staying on task. Cards are placed in different sections depending on urgency and the order they need to be completed. Slack is a messaging app that helps keep work talk within the workplace. There are different channels for different groups of people, and it’s how everyone stays in contact.

Slack is essential to my team, Tool Evaluation, because many of us do not work on the same shifts. I have a partner who I work most shifts with and we’re assigned to the same tool, Autopsy, an open source digital forensics tool used to analyze data sets. Every group has the same set of data, but a different tool to use for analysis. We can communicate our updates on our specific tool through messages, links, files, and even gifs! Our final product is a collaborative report the eight of us contribute to, so updating each other is vital.

Finding a Balance

To help with the transition from students to young professionals, there is a class that is paired with my internship. The Information Technology & Sciences’ Career Coach, Mark Zammuto, teaches the class on Wednesday mornings at 8 am. I personally hate waking up early, but the classes are short, informative, and honestly really helpful. Mark has encouraged us to accomplish important tasks including updating our LinkedIn profiles, creating email signatures, and updating our resumes. The class is designed to give us the tools we’ll need for our futures and I know I’m gaining valuable knowledge I’ll utilize for years to come.

The most interesting part of this process has been connecting my current coursework outside of Mark’s class and my internship. My Laws of Digital Evidence class helps me gain insight to the legal side of gathering evidence, while my Intro to Cybercrime gets into the technical side of acquiring and analyzing evidence. In my Technical Writing class, I learn how to write in a more clear and concise way for technical reports. I learn new things in these courses everyday that help me with the internship, and vice versa. It’s insightful to be able to make these connections and get a more well-rounded learning experience my first semester. I’m looking forward to the next steps of my project and completing my internship at the end of the semester.

The post LCDI Intern Blog Series: All About My Internship appeared first on The Leahy Center for Digital Investigation.