Personal Narrative: Instant Messaging As A Means Of Law Enforcement

When faced with problems as a computer forensics investigator you must be very flexible. There are many different types of computer related crimes in today’s society. They may range from child pornography to identity theft to even insider trading on Wall Street. The possibilities for the criminals in our world to use computers and the Internet against us are endless. The computer forensics or cyber forensics fields are growing but are still learning every day because it is such a young field of study. New things emerge every day that computer forensic investigators must adapt to and begin to learn to help combat these criminals. Investigators will use many tools to help them find incriminating evidence. These investigators must learn these tools inside and out to make sure every test they run can be valid. The computer forensics field is growing rapidly and there are a lot of real world threats that we need these investigators to help us solve.

(6) Any investigative or law enforcement officer, or attorney for the Government, who by any means authorized by this chapter, has obtained knowledge of the contents of any wire, oral, or electronic communication, or evidence derived there from, may disclose such contents to any other Federal Law Enforcement , intelligence, protective, immigration, national defense, or national security official to the extent that such contents include foreign intelligence information, to assist the official who is to receive that information in the performance of his duties.? This allows for a better sharing of information among the different division of federal, state and local law enforcement nationwide. In a large scale criminal investigation, proper communication and information sharing is vital. This act has allowed information to be disseminated to law enforcement agencies throughout the country, so they can effectively work together towards the goal of arresting terrorists, and preventing another terrorist attack. Another section of the USA PATRIOT ACT that Schmalleger (2003) quotes is Sec. 213. Authority for Delaying notice of the Execution of a Warrant. ?With respect to the issuance of any warrant or court order under this section, or any other rule of law, to search for and seize any property or material that constitutes evidence of a criminal offense in violation of the laws of the United States, any notice required,

Imagine that you are investigating a case where the suspect is believed to have deleted information from his or her computer that might be evidence. Where would you look for this evidence?

The tragic events of September 11th, 2001 showed the vulnerabilities of this country as a whole, reflecting the lack of attention this nation gave to terrorism. Following September 11th, it was clear that drastic preventative measures needed to be taken in order to avoid reoccurrence of a destructive and deadly act of terrorism (Simon, 2009). As a response to the attacks, The Patriot Act was passed in October of 2001 in order to give federal agencies a substantial increase in power in accessing, monitoring, and examining records and citizens who have been identified as, or could potentially be, risks to this country. This act also allowed federal agents to single out and watch potential individuals labeled as terrorists without evidence linking them to an actual terrorist organization, as well as allowing for an increase in wiretapping phones of potential suspects (Banks, 2010).

This search is not only conducted for households, but also other buildings such as a “terrorist cell” or even a vehicle. For example, a suspect in Buffalo had his car searched and the agents utilized a delay-notice warrant in which they used a duplicate key to take the suspect’s car without the suspect noticing. The DEA agent left traces behind as if the suspect’s car was broken into and stolen. It is also important to notice that the suspect must be informed eventually about the warrant being issued against them, but that could last up to days, months or years (DeRosa, 2005). However, according to the 2006 Amendment of the Patriot Act, a thirty day notice is mandatory unless the agent or officer extend the notice by providing further facts and information to the judge. Before the attacks on 9/11, sneak and peek searches did not involve the inspection of files, documents and pictures in the home, but Section 213 expands the scope of these searches (Lippman,

Review the information in the text sheet entitled “Overview of Evidence and Digital Forensic Analysis Techniques,” which describes different types of digital forensic analysis techniques, such as disk forensics and e-mail forensics.

Even when the Central Intelligence Agency, CIA, told the FBI that al-Mihdhar and other Bin Laden related individuals were in the United States, the FBI refused to open a criminal investigation because at that time it was illegal to share information among the agencies. If this case had been opened, the investigation of al-Mihdhar could have given key evidence regarding the participants of the 9/11 attack beforehand, helping to prevent the attack (Kyl 140). The delayed notice and “sneak and peek” warrants that the USA PATRIOT act allows are just as crucial as the information sharing between intelligence and criminal investigators. As Attorney General Gonzales explains,

The PATRIOT Act was launched in 2001 in the wake of terrorism as a way of aiding the government to respond promptly to the terrorist attacks. One of the provisions of the Act is that the FBI could conduct investigations with delayed search warrants and wiretap communications without the consent of the public. This allowed the FBI to view the houses of people they suspected to be involved with terrorism, investigate their bank accounts without even informing them prior to the deed. In summation, they could request for the information of

Evidence plays a vital role throughout criminal investigations. Typically, we think of evidence as things such as fingerprints, DNA, and fibers. However, evidence as evolved as the world of technology has expanded. Digital evidence also now plays just as much of an important role as traditional evidence. When beginning an investigation that involves digital evidence, it is important for the investigator to know what evidence to look for. Identification of evidence, collection including transportation of evidence and examination of evidence are the three main aspects of the process.

What potential sources of digital evidence do you find at a crime scene? First of all, what is digital evidence? Digital evidence is any information or data of value to an investigation that is stored on, received by, or transmitted by an electronic device. Also, Digital evidence or electronic evidence is any probative information stored or transmitted in digital form that a party to a court case may use at trial. Text messages, emails, pictures and videos, and internet searches are some of the most common types of digital evidence. Most criminals now leave a digital trail;

In the aftermath of 9/11, the American government passed the Patriot Act and Homeland Security Act to prevent future attacks and catch terrorists, but instead these acts led to the decline of the freedom of Americans. The USA Patriot Act is an acronym that stands for Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism and was passed on October 26, 2001 to expand the tools that law enforcement agencies had in fighting terrorists. The act armed law enforcement with tools for surveillance of terrorists, such as wiretaps and access to business documents. Theoretically, these additions to the law would allow for terrorists to be apprehended before they would attack. In an NSA manual, called “Transition 2001”, the agency detailed their plans for fighting terrorists in the 21st century. The manual detailed a new mission statement for American intelligence, “Intelligence and information systems security complement each other. Intelligence gives the nation an information advantage over its adversaries. Information systems security prevents others from gaining advantage over the nation. Together

The Patriot Act comprises of communication tools against terrorism such as information sharing across law enforcement agencies in the United States, and new investigative tools used to find and prevent terrorism. These tools provided in this act aid to national security by finding, and terminating terrorists and terrorism conspiracies. Information sharing between Federal agencies, and state and local agencies allows state and local law enforcement to understand what terrorism entails and how to prevent and look for terrorism acts in their communities. In the same sense intelligence officers can discuss anti-terrorism efforts with federal law enforcement. They can now improve the way they coordinate how to prevent terrorism and how to appropriately stop a known plot.

In a world where technology is increasingly becoming the way of life, it was only a matter of time before crime was no longer just in the streets but happening online as well. Criminals now get a new approach to carry out their crimes with the use of computers. Since technology is more like a murder mystery than catching the bad guy in the act, a new discipline of forensics needed to be put into place. This is known as computer forensics. Forensic science is any science used for the purpose of law. In the case of computer forensics it is “the discipline that combines elements of law and computer science to collect and analyze data from computer systems, networks, wireless communications, and storage devices in a way that is admissible as evidence in a court of law” (U.S. Cert, 2008). Meaning if you do something illegal on the Internet it can be found.

The topic of discussion that was proposed by Rachid Hadjidj, Mourad Debbabi*, Hakim Lounis, Farkhund Iqbal, Adam Szporer, Djamel Benredjem was a new technique in uncovering e-mail forensic data for use in a court of law. Different types of cyber crimes performed through e-mail include “spamming, phising, drug trafficking, cyber bullying, racial vilification, child pornography, sexual harassment, etc.” Suspected e-mail accounts are examined by forensic analysis and data is captured in order to prove crimes in court. The amount of e-mail cyber crimes that manifest is proof that there is a need for a software tool that can be an all encompassing e-mail analyzer in order to capture the needed forensic data. The writers propose

In simple terms, computer or digital forensic evidence analysis is the scientific collection of data that is either retrieved or held by a computer storage device that can be used against a criminal in a court of law. For the information to be used in court it should be collected before it is presentation; therefore, there are a number of recommendations proposed to make sure that information collected meets the intended integrity.