A round-up of this week’s digital forensics news and views:
Sleepless in Cupertino: A Forensic Dive into Apple Watch Sleep Tracking
Digital forensic experts have unveiled the potential of Apple Watch’s Sleep app as a crucial tool in criminal investigations. The upcoming Vitals app, slated for release with watchOS 11, is expected to enhance sleep tracking capabilities, potentially providing automatic recording of sleep data. This development could significantly impact the use of wearable technology in forensic analysis, offering investigators more comprehensive and readily available data for establishing timelines and verifying alibis in criminal cases.
Read More (Metadata Forensics)
US prosecutors used an AI tool to send a man to prison for life. Now the person who created it is under investigation.
Digital forensic experts are raising alarm over Cybercheck, an AI-powered crime-fighting tool used in hundreds of criminal cases across the US. The software, developed by Adam Mosher, claims to analyze vast amounts of public data to place suspects at crime scenes with over 90% accuracy. However, serious questions have emerged about Cybercheck’s reliability and Mosher’s credentials, with multiple cases of inconsistencies, withdrawn evidence, and ongoing investigations into potentially false court testimony.
UK police monitoring TikTok for evidence of criminality at far-right riots
Police forces across the UK are leveraging TikTok’s Live function to gather evidence against far-right demonstrators involved in recent riots, with analysts monitoring livestreams for self-incriminating footage. The platform’s ease of use and popularity have made it a primary outlet for real-time coverage of civil unrest, with some streams garnering audiences comparable to television news channels. While TikTok’s ephemeral nature poses challenges for evidence collection, law enforcement is also utilizing other digital sources such as CCTV, bodycam footage, and retrospective facial recognition to build cases against rioters.
Interview: Chad Gish, Forensic Expert, Magnet Forensics
Chad Gish talks to Forensic Focus about the critical role of digital evidence in modern investigations, emphasizing the need for continuous learning and adaptation in the face of rapidly evolving technology. He predicts that generative AI, exponential data growth, and cloud storage debates will be key challenges for the field, advocating for education and willingness to embrace change as essential strategies for digital forensic practitioners.
Police recover over USD 40 million from international email scam
INTERPOL’s Global Rapid Intervention of Payments (I-GRIP) mechanism facilitated the recovery of over $41 million in a business email compromise scam targeting a Singapore-based commodity firm. The Singapore Police Force, working with authorities in Timor Leste through INTERPOL’s network, intercepted $39 million and arrested seven suspects within days of the fraud’s discovery. This case highlights the critical importance of swift international cooperation in combating cross-border financial crimes, with I-GRIP proving instrumental in recovering hundreds of millions of dollars in illicit funds since its 2022 launch.
AI-Powered Deepfake Tools Becoming More Accessible Than Ever
Trend Micro’s research reveals a significant increase in sophisticated AI tools on the cybercrime underground, particularly deepfake technology. New tools like DeepNude Pro, Deepfake 3D Pro, and VideoCallSpoofer enable criminals to create highly convincing fake videos and images for various malicious purposes, including sextortion, BEC attacks, and identity fraud. The report also notes the re-emergence of criminal LLM services with enhanced capabilities. Despite these advancements, the adoption of these AI tools by cybercriminals has been relatively slow, likely due to the continued effectiveness of traditional tactics. As these threats evolve, businesses and individuals are urged to enhance their cybersecurity measures and remain vigilant against potential AI-powered attacks.
Prioritizing Technology in Law Enforcement: Understanding Executive Decision-Making
Law enforcement agencies face complex decisions when prioritizing technology investments, balancing crime prevention, apprehension, and investigation needs against budget constraints. While digital forensics tools are crucial for post-incident investigations and long-term crime prevention, agencies often grapple with allocating resources to more immediate crime prevention technologies like license plate readers or real-time crime centers. Industry experts emphasize the importance of understanding this multifaceted decision-making process to better serve law enforcement needs and ultimately enhance community safety.
Read More (Debbie Garner, LinkedIn)
UK crimebusters shut down global call-spoofing outfit that claimed 170K-plus victims
The UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) has dismantled Russian Coms, a call-spoofing service responsible for defrauding hundreds of thousands of victims worldwide, including 170,000 in the UK alone. The operation, which facilitated over 1.3 million spoofed calls, led to the arrest of four British suspects believed to be the service’s operators and affiliates. The NCA, in collaboration with global law enforcement, continues to target additional users of the service, highlighting the growing threat of technology-enabled fraud.
Podcast Episode: Enslaved in Asia and Forced to Scam Strangers Online
A multibillion-dollar cyberfraud industry in Southeast Asia, fueled by forced labor and torture, has trafficked hundreds of thousands of people to Myanmar and Cambodia for “forced criminality,” according to the United Nations. Host Zoe Thomas discusses this issue with WSJ reporter Feliz Solomon, who has been speaking to human trafficking victims coerced into committing online scams.
