orensic expert at a crime scene

Why is Criminal Activity on the Rise?

A criminal is not born a criminal. There are many factors at play that lead people to go down the path of crime. These factors include social, mental, and financial restraints. Yet again, every criminal is different in his manners of committing the crime. However, the theme of parental neglect and mental issues are regarded as the common reasons for criminal behavior.

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Ways Cyber Criminals Outsmart the General Population

Cybercriminals pose an enormous threat to individuals and organizations. They are adept at finding new ways to extract information and money from their victims. Only top-notch data forensic experts can safeguard you from these malicious attacks.

It may help to be aware of the common tactics and techniques they use to compromise your privacy.

Phishing

Have you ever clicked on such messages telling you you’ve won a free cruise trip? Or something along the lines of, ‘send this message to five of your friends and win the new iPhone?’

Well, friends, that’s phishing at its finest.

Recently, the US has seen a rise in phishing attacks on individual and corporate levels.

Online fraud and identity thefts are the most common form of phishing. The criminals send fraudulent emails and social media messages en masse, leading the user to a carefully constructed fake website.

Here’s where the victim is trapped. These websites either contain infected attachments or malware; or they trick the user into entering personal and sensitive details like contact numbers, passwords, or date of birth.

The criminals then hold this information over the head of individuals or corporations for extortion.

The only way to steer clear of such scams is to stop trusting your emails. If you are receiving these threats and messages, reach out to your local cyber forensic experts.

 spy hacking computer in the dark

Malware attacks

If your browsing speed has slowed down, or you are redirected to a website you never intended to visit, contact your computer analyst. Malware might have found its way into your system. A malware attack compromises your computer security. Cybercriminals spread malware on your computer through website spoofing. Designed to look like a legitimate website, the hackers deceive you into gaining access to your personal and financial data.

Unable to restore this data, the company or individual is then at the mercy of the attackers.

Some malware encrypts data and demands a ransom in return, while others trick you into downloading applications that infect your computer.

DDoS attack

Often distributed globally, DDoS exploits vulnerability in one computer system or network device to take down a whole server.

The distributed denial of service disrupts the traffic of a server or network by redirecting a flood of malicious internet traffic or bot-nets.

The goal of these attacks is to exhaust the target’s resources and deny services to the users.

Internet of Things (IoT) devices don’t have an adequate level of security, and they’re highly exposed to such attacks.

A person can’t detect such attacks. Recruit the services of cyber forensic experts as a necessary precaution.

Are cybercriminals breaching your privacy? Don’t fret. Eclipse forensics has your back. Their cyber forensic experts guarantee the protection of your personal and financial information.

Reach out for their court-certified services.

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The New Era of Crime: The Criminal Channels of the 21st Century

Transnational and organized crimes are rising with digitalization. People knowingly or unknowingly fall victims to these crimes. They’re also a significant threat to national security.

The emergence of these new crimes demands new laws and due diligence from law enforcement agencies.

Cybercrime

With the advancement in technology and social media, new criminal trends are emerging in cyberspace. Our global connectivity has become a haven for cybercriminals.

Personal information through online banking, shopping, and social networks—everything is at their disposal. They attack the integrity of individuals or organizations by accessing this information through fraudulent emails and messages.

Cybercrimes vary by the criminal’s intent and their victims. They range from spam to cyber terrorism to child trafficking to harassment, and more.

If you receive an email requesting a financial transaction or asking for personal information, immediately contact your computer analyst.

Identity theft

Millions of people in the US are falling victims to identity-related crimes.  Our social security number is our de facto identification number; we use it for traveling, shopping, and paying our taxes and bills.

Accessing your social security number means stealing your identity.

Equipped with sophisticated tools, criminals can access your credit card information and use it to pay huge bills, ultimately burdening you with debts.  Identity theft is usually hard to detect until the damage is well and truly done.

You can, however, incorporate some measures to protect yourself. Once you see some unknown transactions from your bank, consult the local cyber forensic expert immediately.

Hate crimes

The US has seen a rise in hate crimes since 2008, especially against Black and Asian communities. Hate crimes instill fear in particular communities.

Criminals spite emotions by taking advantage of the loopholes in the law and delivering hate speeches on social media. These criminals also actively take part in these hostile acts. These racially-fueled crimes promote antagonism in communities.

If you have evidence in the form of videos on your cellphones, video forensics experts may identify these criminals.

leopard

Wildlife Trafficking

You might have unknowingly become part of the illicit wildlife trade. During your travels, you might have purchased souvenirs created from wildlife. Wildlife trafficking is a multibillion-dollar industry in the US.

The traffickers capture rare and endangered animals and trade them on the black market. Some animals never make it to the market. They die mid-transit due to inadequate care.

Wildlife trafficking doesn’t just break the rule of law but also threatens the economic development of a country.

Court-certified eclipse forensics has worked with numerous law enforcement agencies and individuals. Their team of experts includes but is not limited to video, data, and audio forensics.

Contact them for services.

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All You Need to Know About Investigative Tools in Data Redaction

The technique of disguising critical material and content from records and documentation used in numerous sectors is known as data blackout or redaction. The goal of data redaction is to prohibit sensitive information from falling under the umbrella of unauthorized people or being abused.

High-profile corporate enterprises or government-maintained departments and organizations who require masking secret information use data redaction solutions provided by renowned digital forensics companies.

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a hacker hacking a laptop

3 Ways to Make Your Business’ Online Presence Safer

Are you concerned that the government will release the private details you provided while paying your taxation digitally?  Perhaps the DMV will release all of your sensitive information? That isn’t paranoid; it’s logical. High-level security compromises can occur, but there’s hardly anything one can do about it. Some threats to your confidentiality and protection, on the other hand, are more personal. If you get up to write your masterpiece someday, you might discover that malware has encoded all of the previous chapters.

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The Role of Audio Forensics in the Music Industry

An audio technician’s greatest fear is loud, distorted, unintelligible tapes—but they frequently include crucial proof during criminal proceedings. The forensic audio professional’s task is to find that proof.

The era of forensic sound using shelves and cabinets of gear is pretty much gone. Did you know that software plug-ins could nearly always perform what our priceless analog buddies previously achieved? Today’s modern forensic audio analysts have access to cutting-edge, sophisticated technology—like the CEDAR Audio’s newest CCS 3000, an “all in all” station intended to provide quick and straightforward audio improvement.

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tablet screen showing alert for malicious activity

4 Tips on How to Avoid Malicious Activity on Your Phone

It seems that there is a fresh smartphone privacy leak each moment you look around. A few months ago, the infamous NSO Organization, a manufacturer of spying technology, abused weaknesses within iOS 9.3.5 to access emails along with chats, record audio, gather credentials, as well as potentially monitor people’ conversations and locations. In return, Apple published a firmware upgrade on August 25.

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How Information is Hidden in Digital Crime: Techniques and Examples

Data can be obscured by digital criminals in a manner that even when it’s in front of you, you either won’t be able to see it or, after seeing it, won’t be able to read it. Over the years, cybercrime has evolved greatly. Cybercriminals have developed techniques that make hiding dangerous data much easier as compared to yestertime. In this blog, we will talk about the two famous techniques used by cybercriminals to hide information.

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Everything You Need To Know about the Redactions Process

Data redaction is the process of masking sensitive data and information from files and documents used in various industries. Data redaction aims to protect classified data from getting into the wrong hands or getting misused.

Data redaction services are performed by reliable digital forensics and are utilized by high-profile private industries or government-run institutions and organizations that require obscuring confidential data.

Importance of Data Redaction

People running their own companies are already aware of data redaction. All companies have sensitive or confidential data that contain private or personal information that needs to be secured.

The data redaction process is broken down into three subcategories: customer data, employee data, or company data. Once you successfully redact access to sensitive information, PHI, PII, & PCI can be safeguarded.

Data Redaction Methods

Page Location

Trade secrets, medical information, social security numbers, judicial files, and proprietary information are all classified as “sensitive information.”

A tool is required for the stripping of all the contents to redact sensitive information. This tool works in both the source and storage files. In case the same piece of information is stored in both the source and storage file, it’s crucial to redact the information from both locations.

Pattern Matching

Proper scanning of all the information is crucial before the redaction process begins. The process of pattern matching can assist you at this stage. Pattern matching determines the type of pattern a piece of information contains. Scanning files by pattern matching technique can speed up the reaction process.

Almost every industry uses various techniques and tools to redact documents. If you find yourself in need of professional help, contacting a reliable digital forensics consultant can ease up the job for you. Hiring one from a reputable agency can make this complicated process extremely simple for you.

Manual Redacting

People redacting data manually

Manual redacting may not be as effective as automatic. However, it is still required once the data, information, or a document has passed the initial and final stages of the redaction process. Going carefully through this process is crucial for the completion of data redaction. Ineffective or incomplete redaction can have consequences such as exposure of important information that was supposed to be protected.

Regardless of how simple it may sound, it is best to leave the redaction of sensitive documents to trained professionals. A reliable digital forensics agency can perform the job for you. If you are a resident of Florida and want redaction of information for your business or personal use, feel free to get in touch with Eclipse Forensics. Digital forensics experts working at Eclipse Forensics will ensure all your sensitive information remains secure. We also offer forensic image redaction services. Feel free to contact us for further info.