University teams up with computer forensics company

A Welsh university has teamed up with an American company to offer a world first in computer courses. The University of Glamorgan is working with AccessData to offer the first courses in the world to be accredited by the computer

New disk encryption standards could complicate data recovery

When the world’s largest disk-makers joined last week to announce a single standard for encrypting disk drives, the move raised questions among users about how to deal with full-disk encryption once it’s native on all laptop or desktop computers. For

DEC ‘hacker’ questions McKinnon political bandwagon

Boris Johnson’s outspoken defence of Gary McKinnon in his extradition fight has been criticised by a former security consultant, who complains he was denied such support when he himself was charged with hacking offences. Daniel Cuthbert was convicted in October

New marching orders for wounded vets

The Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington is planning to train wounded soldiers in the science of digital forensics so they can become cybersecurity investigators. The three-year, $1 million project is primarily funded by the National Science Foundation. The

Purdue sponsoring Chicago conference on mobile forensics in May

Purdue University is inviting experts, investigators and researchers from around the world to take part in the second Mobile Forensics World Conference to be held in Chicago from May 26-30. The conference will bring together those who specialize in the

Cyber-Crime: Law Enforcement Must Keep Pace With Tech-Savvy Criminals

When Henry Ford brought affordable automobiles to the average U.S. citizen in 1908, he also improved the fortunes of criminals by ushering in Crime 1.0 – technology-assisted crime. Fast forward a century: Enter the computer and with it, Crime 2.0

Cybercrime threat rising sharply

The threat of cybercrime is rising sharply, experts have warned at the World Economic Forum in Davos. They called for a new system to tackle well-organised gangs of cybercriminals. Online theft costs $1 trillion a year, the number of attacks

Computer forensics videos – submit your favourites!

Forensic Focus now has a video section with the aim of listing online videos which are of interest to those in the computer forensics community. The main index can be found at http://www.forensicfocus.com/computer-forensics-videos (note, you need to be logged in

The Julie Amero case: Injustice for all

“The Julie Amero porn pop-up case should be history by now, but some folks just won’t let it die. Cringe has the scoop…Normally I try to let sleeping dogs lie. But this is one hound who keeps barking and won’t

Crime lab backlog ‘too long’ for crimes against children

Hundreds of investigations of online child sexual exploitation and CP have been significantly delayed by backlogs at FBI cybercrime labs, according to a Justice Department report released Friday. An audit conducted more than a year ago by the department’s inspector

The future of Forensic Focus – have your say!

A very short survey (10 questions) has been created in an attempt to clarify what aspects of the Forensic Focus site visitors find important, what areas they feel are less useful and what they would like to see added in

Data Wiping Myth Put to Rest

Several computer forensic experts have tackled the legend that, in order to properly protect it from recovery, data stored on an HDD needs to be overwritten multiple times. According to their scientific study, doing it a single time is enough,

UK police ‘encouraged’ to hack more

The Home Office has signed up to an EU strategy against cybercrime that “encourages” police across Europe to remotely access personal computers. The plan has sparked fears that the government is looking to increase police powers to hack into people’s

Computer forensics helped solve Craigslist robberies

Durham County prosecutors who wrapped up two robbery cases last week involving the online classifieds site Craigslist say computer forensics played a key role in the case…Durham County Assistant District Attorney Stormy Ellis said Durham police were able to trace

Computer forensics – a subject every executive should understand

One of the least researched, but most important subject areas for the future of business is the field of computer forensics. It’s a huge area and a massive challenge for all organisations that rely on digital transactions. In the past,