Monthly Archive for March, 2007

Decision-Making at the Precipice

Published on March 22, 2007 in Methods, Private Investigator, Report Writing, Search Engines and Sources. 0 Comments

A PI client “consulted” us about devising a method of doing background research on his client’s customers. What he was really doing was trolling for ideas on how to do it without paying us for our assistance. We get that a lot.

The reason this approach doesn’t help the freeloader is a lack of understanding of the structure and use of information. For instance, he wanted to do Florida court searches but didn’t understand the significance of “hidden dockets” or even what they were. If he didn’t understand what hope did his client have?

He did not understand that decisions are not only made on the content of the data, but also the limitations of the data.

The limitations may include the following:

1. The extent of the data set from which your data was selected

2. The date-range or currency of the data

3. The overall quality of the original data set

4. The liabilities associated with using the data decision-making. For example, who is responsible if the data is wrong, and will the responsible party accept liability? If not, will you be sued by an aggrieved party looking for a deep pocket? Can you afford these risks?

Most PI’s think a disclaimer and lots of ‘weasel words’ in their reports will save them. These folks could be in for a rude awakening some day!

Issues surrounding the limitations of the data set being searched and the data provided need to be acknowledged by the end-user before the work commences. This must be provided in writing.

This is decision-making at the precipice of the unknown — beyond here be dragons.

World’s Most Secure Hard Drive

Published on March 12, 2007 in Encryption, Identity Theft, Privacy, Security and The Investigator's Computer. 0 Comments

Two years after Seagate announced the world’s most secure hard drive, the 2.5 inch Momentus 5400 FDE.2 (full disk encryption) hard drive will go on sale at the end of March in a laptop from ASI Computer Technologies. The on-the-fly encryption is integrated into the drive.

Four Months Jail for Spyware

Published on March 7, 2007 in Courts, Espionage, Identity Theft, Industrial Espionage, Privacy, Private Investigator, Security and Surveillance. 0 Comments

In the R v Waters [2007], the UK Court of Appeal upheld the sentence of four months imprisonment for a man who had conspired to install spyware software on his wife’s computer. The Court of Appeal ruling stated:

Computers are an established part of modern life. An increasing amount of personal and private information is kept on computers, not only by the State and large organisations but also by individuals. The privacy of that information must be protected and it is vulnerable to the kind of unauthorised interference and intrusion that occurred in this case. The judge correctly identified deterrence as an element of sentencing in this case. In our judgment, a sentence of imprisonment for offences such as this was not wrong in principle.

Information Security is a Roll of the Dice Away

Published on March 6, 2007 in Communication, Encryption, Espionage, Industrial Espionage, Intellectual Property Rights, Privacy, Security and The Investigator's Computer. 0 Comments

A friend who works for a very security conscious government organization surprised me when he asked why I had a plastic cup on my desk containing half a dozen dice cubes. Everybody knows why you keep dice at your desk, don’t they?

Passwords were the cornerstone of data security. It doesn’t matter if you are signing onto the company LAN, starting your laptop, or receiving email, passwords were required to keep out the thieves and brigands. Well today passwords are obsolete! Today you need a passphrase! Continue reading ‘Information Security is a Roll of the Dice Away’

Report Passwords

Published on March 3, 2007 in Encryption, Industrial Espionage, Intellectual Property Rights, Private Investigator, Security and The Investigator's Computer. 0 Comments

Have you ever sent an important report out to be copied and bound?

How Investigators and Consultants handle deliverables after the final editing may affect the security of the entire job. Yet they often give the product of their genius to some unknown person for copying and binding, then leave to have lunch. We have all seen this.

Another version of this slipshod security practice is emailing unsecured reports. Or unwarranted reliance on the passwords in Word or PDF files to protect the contents.

Anybody who thinks that file passwords are completely secure should look at this Google Directory for Password Recovery software or this one for PDF Password Crackers. All password systems have weaknesses that can be exploited under some circumstances. Security comes from minimizing the exposure of the password-protected report files to circumstances that could lead to unauthorized access. Knowing the weaknesses of the password system and experience with the tools used to break it form your best defence.