Law enforcement officers today are faced with many new applications that that allow users to communicate or store information privately. As consumers become more concerned with privacy and security, the use of these applications continues to rise. And they aren’t just for criminals or spooks – secure messaging apps have gained widespread popularity among the general populace.
The novelty of these apps is that rather than encrypting only part of a conversation,
by the National White Collar Crime Center
Advancements in digital technology including devices such as smartphones, tablets, personal computers, and gaming devices have given society near constant and instant access online. With the proliferation of technology has also come the evolution of online content, largely dominated today by social media giants Facebook®, Twitter®, and Instagram®.
In March 2015, Twitter acquired the live video streaming service called Periscope®. Periscope allows anyone with a Twitter account or mobile phone number to easily live stream from their iOS® or Android® devices.
By: Center for Internet Security
The Center for Internet Security (CIS) recently published their monthly Cyber Tips newsletter, The Harm in Password Reuse.
Below is the content provided in the newsletter published by CIS:
From the Desk of Desk of Thomas F. Duffy, Chair
Every day malicious cyber actors compromise websites and post lists of usernames, email addresses, and passwords online.
On Twitter, the “#” sign refers to a hashtag—a way to group conversations together and make topics of discussion easier to discover and search. Our blog topic of discussion is #Greenbirds—which involves social media influencers on Twitter supporting the Islamic State (also known as ISIS or ISIL).
#Greenbirds: Measuring Importance and Influence in Syrian Foreign Fighter Networks—is a report from London-based researchers at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence who are studying foreign fighter networks.
What are bots, and why should lawyers be concerned about them? For this blog topic of discussion, bots are considered “a device or piece of software that can execute commands, reply to messages, or perform routine tasks, as online searches, either automatically or with minimal human intervention.” For law enforcement, such bots are an emerging threat because they are being programmed to carry out online tasks that sometimes can cross the line into illegal activities.
Cyber crime is a global threat to the economic and physical security of all nations. It is the leading crime problem facing the world today and law enforcement organizations must be prepared to recognize and investigate these crimes. The International Association of Chief of Police (IACP) in collaboration with Bureau of Justice Assistance, at the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs, RAND Corporation, the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF), and other partners, developed the Law Enforcement Cyber Center.
Cryptolocker is financially-motivated ransomware that encrypts a user’s computer files and demands payment in either an anonymous currency (Bitcoin), or Moneypak payment cards. Propagation & Exploit is typically via spam email purporting to come from shipping companies or regarding business processes, dropped by other malware, thumb drives, and Yahoo! Messenger. Upon infection, Cryptolocker contacts the command and control (C2) server for a public RSA-2048 encryption key, which is downloaded and used to encrypt typical enterprise files types,
CryptoWall is a digital ransomware that encrypts files on the infected machine and any connected file shares or drives. CryptoWall is distributed through phishing emails, malicious advertisements, compromised web sites, and as fake updates for applications such as Adobe Reader, Adobe Flash, and Java. In June 2014, this malware spread through the RIG exploit kit. Malicious actors use compromised websites to host the RIG exploit kit, which then exploits vulnerabilities in Java, Silverlight, and Flash to deliver the CryptoWall payload to the victim.
TDoS attacks overload the telephone network, preventing legitimate telephone calls from being placed or received. Attacks against SLTT emergency lines, primarily at public safety answering points (PSAP) such as 9-1-1 centers, but also including utility department emergency numbers and other emergency numbers, remain a continuing threat. There is a relatively low risk of TDOSes occurring, however an attack against a PSAP could endanger emergency responders and citizens if the TDOS prevents them from contacting the PSAP.
POS compromises are increasingly common in the commercial sector but remain rare in the government sector. The POS is the location where money transfers from the buyer to the seller at a retail store. Compromises can include physical tampering with pinpads or cash registers, complicit employees, or computer viruses. The compromise may affect the cash register or the computer that processes the credit card payments, and may target debit cards and pin numbers or credit card information.
