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.
Steganography
The technique of steganography falls under the “hide in plain sight” category. This method is employed so that the obscured data remains accessible to anyone in a form that isn’t suspicious at all. This can be done by embedding harmful files into other innocent-looking files.
The concept of steganography dates back to a much earlier time when soldiers used invisible ink to write wartime tactics. In present times, cybercriminals use steganography to hide information in almost all types of files, ranging from music to photos. These files look normal to regular people. However, the intended recipient will know how to decrypt the hidden info from them.
The FBI uncovered the steganography instance in the year 2010. FBI accused some alleged Russian secret agents of hiding secret messages inside random pictures on a public website. These alleged spies used to communicate classified data to other accomplices who knew how to extract it from these pictures.
Cryptography
If hiding in plain sight goes south, cybercriminals can also make the information unreadable by using cryptography. Even though this technique may sound quite like steganography, it’s entirely a different one.
Most of us have written codded messages to our friends as kids. To decipher these messages, there was a key that only you and your friend knew. If you have done this, you too engaged in cryptography, although it wasn’t of a criminal nature.
Cryptography is the art of protecting data by transforming it into a format known by a few. This process is called encryption and dates back centuries. It has been used to prevent written messages from being exposed to unintended recipients. In present days, cryptography is used for the protection of digital data.
An example of cryptography is an encrypted message where letters were replaced with some symbols, and for the reader to decode it, a table or grid was required that defines how these symbols are transposed.
If your data has been encrypted from ransomware, or you’re looking for digital, audio, and video forensic experts in Florida, head over to Eclipse Forensics. Our court-certified forensic experts also have proven capabilities of providing clients with expert witness testimony in civil and criminal cases.
Contact us today for an in-depth analysis of your forensics case.