Blog

Several news articles have referred to Russian surveillance at the just-concluded Sochi Olympics as "Prism on Steroids." Surely they jest. Prism, the NSA's widely cast surveillance net, is practically the definition of (cybersurveillance) steroids. One big difference...

On the morning of May 21, something happened. Suspicion fell first on kids playing with matches. But a Fire Department investigation soon revealed that it was faulty wiring in the walls that started the fire. The temporary building that permanently housed the Pine...

Backup, backup, backups! If there's one thing I've learned in 30 years and close to 20,000 data recoveries, it's that everybody doesn't back up their data sometimes. Nobody backs up their data all of the time, most people never back up their data, and hardly anyone...

I was taking a small midday break from my computer forensics lab to enjoy a few minutes of a sunny 75 degree June day in my Santa Barbara County office when I got the call from a Tino Zatara, Boston lawyer. He was sweating and it wasn't just because Boston was having...

It was a balmy summer day in Marin County, back near the beginning of my computer forensics career. Back in the day - before we called it that - I had testified as an expert witness only a few times. My feet weren't flat yet, my shoes not yet gummy.Y2K was just...

Bitcoin is a virtual currency. It doesn’t exist in the kind of physical form that the currency & coin we’re used to exist in. It doesn't even exist in a form as physical as Monopoly money. It’s electrons – not molecules. But consider how much cash you personally...

By Jessica Riccio In part one, we defined private browsing and discussed its history. We covered places where various browsers store browsing history and the technical means through which each browser does so. In this part, we give the steps and results of my own...

“Is the U.S. ready for cyber war?” leads an article in FCW Online. FCW, “the Business of Federal Technology” is an online magazine designed to provide Federal tech execs with the guidance and information it needs to do business with the Feds. As such, it is...

The stories are true; the names and places have been changed to protect the potentially guilty. A few years ago, Debby Johnson, an attorney from a large firm based in Kansas City, contacted me about a relatively simple matter. I was to travel to offices in Sacramento...

We get this question several times a week, so it’s not just you. And no, it doesn't mean you're crazy – even if your friends think so, and even if law enforcement won't take your case. People’s computers and phones get hacked, every day. Why won't the police do...