Agape Blog

UK-based internet security technology company First Cyber Security has teamed up with software provider Phatware to develop a technology that will fight against internet fraud. Their joint venture named Heracles Research, would deliver their first product by using First Cyber Security’s core technology which will verify all URl’s in each email message received and filter the ones containing links to fraudlent websites.

The working of the software is described below:
1. Heracles software will filter spam mails from the e-mails that reach the company.
2. It will then scan the remaining e-mails by visiting every link contained in the e-mail and check if the URLs lead the user to a genuine or dangerous site.
3. It will report back to the e-mail, adding a validation report, or alternatively rejecting it if it contains a fraudulent link.

President of Phatware: Stanislav Miasnikov, said: “We are excited to form this new joint venture and deliver email security software based on the technology developed by First Cyber Security while utilising PhatWare’s expertise in software development for desktop and mobile platforms.”

The first beta version of the software will be available in two versions: Client-side for MS Outlook 2007 or later and Server-side for MS Outlook 2007.

With the annual rate of cyber crimes increasing at 100 percent, the cyber cell of Delhi Police made a great effort in training 100 officials.
The officials had undergone a six-weeks training programme at the Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University. They were given training in hardware and software, computer networks, cyber crime, digital fraud, incident response systems, computer forensics fundamentals, cyber law, e-mail crime, cyber forensics, credit card frauds and e-mail tracing. The training program concluded recently and the first batch of 100 investigating officers of Delhi Police and 2 officers of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) were handed certificates in ‘Cyber Crime Investigation and Computer Forensics’ yesterday.

With terrorists and criminals, increasingly using computers to accomplish terrorists attacks, threats and scams, the need for police officers who can investigate cyber crimes has risen manifold. This was a great effort undertaken by the Delhi Police to train its officials to fight against the increasing  white collar crimes.

Delhi Police Commissioner Y.S. Dadwal said that 100 more officers would undergo similar training soon.

The Maharashtra state government has sanctioned Rs. 3.5 crores to set up a forensic laboratory in Amravati. This will be the first ever forensic laboratory in the Amravati division.

With the increasing crime rate, forensics help in solving complex cases easily. Also due to the absence of forensic laboratories in Amravati, Akola, Yavatmal and other nearby cities, people and law enforcement agencies have to depend on the laboratories in Nagpur. This burdens the work on the forensic labs in Nagpur and hence police enquiry in many cases cannot be completed as they wait for the results. The workforce in forensics field is also difficult to find as it requires through knowledge of all the concepts. At such times, private organisations like Agape Inc also help in forensic investigations. It is estimated that around 39,000 cases for the year 2005 and 2006 are still waiting for the results from the forensic lab. For 2007 and 2008, this number crosses 35,000 mark.

Considering all these points the state government has decided to start a laboratory at Amravati. The funds sanctioned will be used to purchase equipment and furniture needed for the laboratory. In the first phase of its operations, the lab will recruit around 56 persons. Considering the geographical location of the city, investigation of general and wildlife crime cases would see an increase and reduce the burden on other forensic labs in the state.

17th Usenix Security Symposium 2008 is commencing today in San Jose. The 5 day event would bring together top researchers, practitioners, system administrators, system programmers, and other experts interested in the security of computer systems and networks.

The program begins with a 2-day training program offering in-depth tutorials by experts like Bruce Potter, Simson Garfinkel, Sean Smith and others. This training program will provide in-depth, immediately useful training in the latest techniques, effective tools, and best strategies. There would be a Technical program wherein 27 refeered papers would be presented covering the best new research in a variety of subject areas, including voting and trusted systems and privacy. Then there would be experts like Hugh Thompson, Jose Nazario and more talking on topics like securities in computer systems and computer forensics under Invited Talks section.

For more information on this event, visit: http://www.usenix.org/events/sec08

A new software tool: JDAFTS has been launched in the demo version for forensic professionals. JDAFTS, which stands for Jones Dykstra & Associates Forensic Tool Suite, includes case data management applications that extend beyond the capabilities of currently-available forensic software applications. The tool is designed for computer forensics, corporate, government, and law enforcement investigators as well as universities.

It is easy to use and allows forensics professionals to import, analyze, compare, and export electronic activity logs from sources including web browser activities, Windows Recycle Bins, and software packages like EnCase and Forensic Toolkit (FTK).

JDAFTS features include:
• Comprehensive Data Timeline
• Quick Reports

Thus, JDAFTS benefits Electronic Forensics Professionals in Legal, Corporate, Consulting, Government, Law Enforcement and Academic Fields.

More information on this tool can be gathered at: www.jonesdykstra.com/JDAFTS

Given below are links to some articles and news in the field of forensic science. We hope these links would be useful for everyone exploring the forensics world.

1. An article that highlights the importance of Real Time data recovery and its reliability. Read more

2. Importance of proper documentation in Computer Evidence Processing. Read more

3. A nice article with real case studies about using your hacking skills for good purpose. Read more

Happy reading!

An organization called NCFTA Canada has been setup in Montreal by Concordia University to fight the increasing threat of cyber crimes. National Cyber Forensics Training Alliance Canada (NCFTA Canada) has been formed with the alliance of Bell Canada, Concordia University, Rogers Communication and Microsoft Canada.

NCFTA Canada will enable and develop partnerships between the public sector, law enforcement agencies, the private sector and academic organizations that will reduce the impact of cyber-crime affecting Canadians.

NCTFA Canada will combine resources, intelligence, expertise and R&D efforts to effectively and cooperatively work on:

• Promoting information security in Canada.
• Investigating mutually defined cyber-crime targets to gather intelligence, define prevention methods, and develop counter-measures.
• Developing and publishing information or processes that will help protect organizations or individuals from cyber-crime.
• Carrying well-focused collaborative research and development initiatives.
• Developing and sharing tools that aid in the investigation or prevention of cyber-crime.
• Building relationships with organizations having similar vision both nationally and internationally.

Scientists have come up with a new method that uses X-rays to detect microscopic corrosion caused by the chemicals in fingerprint residue. It works on bullet casings and machine guns. Generally the heat evolved while firing vapourises normal clues. But now the detectives will be able to prove who handled and loaded a gun, even after cleaning.

Dr. John Bond developed this technique along with some forensic researchers at the Leicester University. He said “For the first time we can get prints from people who handled a cartridge before it was fired. Wiping it down, washing it in hot soapy water makes no difference - and the heat of the shot helps the process we use.”

Cases dating back decades could be reopened because the underlying print never disappears. Hundreds of gun crime files could now be re-examined. This process can be used for other cases where prints are on metal.

We had mentioned a few days ago that our product AgapeMobiTool is under testing process. Today we completed the final phase of the testing process and will be releasing its version 1.0 soon.

AgapeMobiTool is forensically valid software for acquiring & decoding data stored in Mobile phone & SIM. It maintains chain of events to find information from a device for investigation purposes.

GENERAL FEATURES:
1. Acquisition of data from GSM/CDMA SIM cards including text messages, phonebook, and call logs.
2. Recovers deleted data from GSM/CDMA SIM cards.
3. Supports with Infrared, Bluetooth & Serial Cables.
4. Acquisition of data from mobile phone memory including pictures, videos, audios, themes.
5. Text, Hex & ASCII data viewing options available.
6. Generates report using XML style sheet.
7. Data acquisition rate for SIM is about 4kbps.

INVESTIGATOR FRIENDLY FEATURES:
1. Data integrity reserved by MD5 & SHA1.
2. Secure acquisition through wireless media.
3. Available with complete hardware kit.

AgapeMobiTool will be available in three different editions.

1. Enterprise Edition
2. Professional Edition
3. Standard Edition

With the use of technology in our lives, lot of our efforts are reduced and tasks are completed with ease. But just as a coin has 2 sides, similarly the advancement in technology is becoming a nuisance for some. To keep a check on the malpractices that happen using technology, many different preventive measures are adopted. Forensics is one such tool which is being used on a large scale and has gained a lot of importance. One such instance is described below.

U.S. government has set up a plan that would require airlines and cruise lines to collect digital fingerprints of all foreigners before they depart the United States. It is expected to start in August 2009.

The plan to track exiting foreign visitors is part of a program known as US-VISIT, an initiative that was promoted in 1996 and launched after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to use fingerprints and digital photographs to automate the processing of visitors entering and exiting the country.
This program has recorded images and fingerprints of nearly 100 million people entering the country since 2004. It has helped find criminals and deter potential terrorists.

What is worth noting is that many organizations are using the help of forensics to prevent crimes and other malpractices.