News

To put a lid on bloggers’ speculation about police getting “backdoors” to Windows security, Microsoft is starting to hush up on the subject. In an e-mail to BetaNews on Friday, a spokesperson described COFEE as a “customizable framework.” Despite releasing

Fears of corporate espionage, malicious staff and disputed trade deals has led to the Open University’s first course on computer forensics to be heavily oversubscribed. The post-graduate Computer Forensics and Investigations course starts today, and prospective students have been bumped

Almost unreported, the UK Criminal Justice Bill is slowly wending its way toward becoming law. It includes a section (Clause 63) on “extreme pornographic images” that may, or may not, affect a very large proportion of the adult population in

Microsoft has reportedly developed a USB key that allows investigators to extract forensic data from PCs. COFEE (Computer Online Forensic Evidence Extractor) comes in a USB key form factor, and was distributed to a small number of law-enforcement agencies last

A new laboratory for the training of CSIs has been opened at the University of Teesside. The new Digital Evidence Laboratory was opened by Andrew Rennison, the Home Office’s forensic science regulator. Angus Marshall, senior lecturer in forensic science at

Guidance Software Inc. will once again bring together professionals from around the world to learn about the latest advancements in the field of digital investigations at the eighth annual Computer and Enterprise Investigations Conference (CEIC). The event takes place next

WetStone Technologies, Inc. now has a 4-day, hands-on, BootCamp focused on those investigating malicious software as it pertains to the hacking process. This class is structured with cyber-safe lab environments where students experience various types of cyber weapons and the

Reputational damage is top of mind for information security leaders again. According to a global survey of more than 7,500 security professionals, 71 per cent said that avoiding harm to brand was their top priority, ahead of other hot topics,

Being aware that any action on your part might compromise computer evidence and taking the steps to prevent and prepare will make your computer forensics team more efficient and effective on the job. Data loss, especially, is a common problem

The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) Annual Report 2007, published 17 April 2008 reveals new intelligence regarding the scale of publicly available child sexual abuse websites known to the IWF. Whilst it is very rare to trace these websites to the

The Fort Smith (Arkansas) Police Department’s Internet crime fighters received a substantial grant from a local cable provider last week. Cox Communications awarded the Police Department’s Cyber Investigation Unit a $9,000 grant as part of a continuing community partnership between

Google engineers have adapted a software program to help track child sex predators and search for patterns in images of abuse on the web. Google has created the technology for the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). It

Perhaps the hardest thing for Jim Bates to hear at his sentencing for making false written witness statements in criminal proceedings was the Judge, Simon Hammond, saying: “I’m quite sure his career as an expert witness is now finished.” Bates

Electronic crime is maturing, according to security experts, and with its evolution, criminals are adopting conventional approaches like supermarket-style pricing and outsourcing to specialists who might act as portfolio managers or computer technicians. “It’s a remarkable development of a whole

The closest thing the world of computer forensics has to the Ten Commandments is the guidance set down in the Association of Chief Police Officers’ Good Practice Guide for Computer-Based Electronic Evidence. These guidelines, built around four main principles, are

The founding father of the UK’s computer forensic industry was today sentenced at Leicester Crown Court for making false witness statements and committing perjury. Jim Bates, 67, was found guilty on the 6 March of four counts of making a