‘AGAPE’ - Pioneer in Cyber Forensic & Cyber Security in India
Archive for the ‘Cyber Forensic’ Category.
In the past week i had presented the top 10 security threats for the year 2008. Below i am mentioning a detailed report on those threats and the issues related to them. This report has been made by our Fraud Management expert: Mr. Prabhat Tiwari.
Today, i am presenting links which are mostly information based, but very useful at the same time. The links provide effective tips which everyone should know, to avoid being caught in a major internet security breach disaster.
We have been providing an array of services to our clients over the past years. From data recovery to vulnerability testing, from forensic investigation to support for proprietary products; we have been doing it all. Through this we have gained valuable experience and expertise in various projects. Also this has resulted in providing more services which are complex in nature and require expertise.
Mentioned below are the services that we currently provide.
The forensic laboratory in Kalina completed 50 years in operations. The golden jubilee celebrations started on Monday, with the launch of National Workshop on Tape Authentication & Speaker Identification. Forensic scientists and police officers participated in large numbers as experts from renowned institutes across India delivered lectures on speech, voice analysis and phonetics.
A booklet was released on the occassion which listed the major cases handled by the laboratory. The forensic lab has started techniques like polygraph test, narco-analysis, brain fingerprinting , cyber forensics, tape authentication, speaker identification and forensic clinical toxicology.
The National Cyber-Forensics and Training Alliance (NCFTA) has provided a section titled- “Top Alerts” on their website. The objective for the same is to make people aware of the various threats which can make anyone vulnerable to attacks from cyber criminals.
Here’s a screenshot of that section:
More details on various threats can be found at - http://www.ncfta.net/alerts.asp
The University of Alabama at Birmingham is warning computer users of a new spam scam! E-mail is vastly used to stay connected with other people by sharing information and this has been the target of spammers since a long time. Of course, forensic experts helped in nabbing many cyber space criminals. But as forensic science is advancing, so are the spammers.
They create emails that look normal, but instead of taking you to the body of the email, it takes you to the malware. These are not phishing emails, which ask for your bank account or credit card details, etc. These are of a different type referred as “drive-by infectors”. Usually, the links provided in the email open a pop up which will tell you that your computer is infected. To help you out, it will take you to an anti-virus website, which is deceiving and instead takes you to a malware.
The latest exploitable target for the spammers is - Media. And the latest example is CNN being targeted by spammers. Basically spammers have cloned the news alert the same way that we get breaking news from CNN.
Forensic experts suggest that if you do not trust any email, the easiest way to double check is to log on to the source website mentioned in the email. Also, you should be on the lookout for suspicious emails cluttering your inbox.
In a unique internship program 17 second year students from the Madras University were allowed to undergo a five-day training with the cyber crime cell - Chennai. This is the first time that the city police have shared the technical and investigation expertise of the cyber cell of the Central Crime Branch (CCB) with students. The students who had undergone internship are currently pursuing their MSc in Forensic Science.
The students were trained in analysis of data, information security, investigation methods and collection of forensic evidence. Various sessions were held on application security, information forensics, how to trace lost mobiles and how internet frauds are tracked by procuring the internet protocol addresses. The training was provided by the cyber cell’s trained professionals.
This unique internship program served two purposes:
1. Police officials were able to educate students on the importance and application of forensics, as the demand for forensic experts is on the rise.
2. The students were able to have a live experience of how forenscics can be used to crack numerous cases.
Chennai Police is planning for more internship programs to students of MA Criminology, in the future.
Central Maine Community College is offering a new course in Computer Forensics (CPT 261) from next month. This course will provide a comprehensive understanding of computer forensics, wherein students will be exposed to different tools and techniques of obtaining data along with an understanding of the investigative process.
The students will get a chance to work with EnCase, the leading forensic software in the industry. Class discussions and hands-on activities will give students a thorough understanding of crime scene processing, data acquisition, computer forensic analysis, e-mail investigations, image and file recovery, witness requirements and report writing.
All students who register for this course will be required to pass a criminal background check and sign a disclaimer stating that they will not use the skills learned for unethical or illegal behavior.
More information can be had from CMCC’s website.
Advances in forensic science have helped to solve many cases and track the criminals. Different fields of forensics like cyber forensics, computer forensics, mobile forensics have played a big role in differentiating the suspects and the convicts. When it comes to crime scene investigation, the experts must capture every possible piece of evidence. But many times it happens that the experts are not able to carry all their equipments to the crime scene. This delays the processing of the evidences and often makes the case weak.
To prevent this, investigators can use vehicles which will carry all the required equipments. I found a decent article that discusses the issues and some of the options available for mobile crime scene vehicles.
Here’s the link: http://www.forensicmag.com/articles.asp?pid=214
A seminar on “What is Computer Forensics?” was organised by the Mir Khalil-ur-Rahman Memorial Society (MKRMS) in Central Punjab. A large number of intellectuals, IT experts and heads of different educational and banking sectors were invited to explore ways to curb cyber crime. All the speakers stressed the need for launching an awarness program to educate people about cyber crimes.
The University of Central Punjab announced a four-year degree course in Computer Forensics, which would begin from October this year.
Also regular meetings will be held between the heads of different departments and IT experts to keep them updated about the cyber crimes and make them aware of measures which could be taken to save their computerised systems from any heavy losses.The associate dean of the university said that since Pakistan was moving towards computerisation in every field, it was necessary to take effective measures to secure the respective systems against cyber crimes.
Dr Shahid Mehmood stressed that a three point agenda could bing change in Computer Foresnsics, which is:
1. To create good connectivity between school and society,
2. To think ahead to cater the challenges of cyber crime, and
3. To shape the mind of pupils for their bright future.
The speakers also pointed out that the world is witnessing a shortage of forensic experts. And urged the students to take advantage of the new degree course, as computer forensics is a vast and heavily paid field.
