The Importance of Digital Forensics
The field of digital forensics has become increasingly more important over the last few years as both the computer and the cellular market has grown. Digital forensics describes the process of going into a technological device such as a computer or a cellphone in order to monitor the activity on these items and determine if the item has been hacked previously and/or is being watched. You may think that you don’t have much to hide on your technological device, so this warning need not apply to you. But just because you’ve hit a “delete’ button doesn’t mean that a good hacker can’t find a copy of it somewhere on your machine. This field is constantly evolving and adjusting to meet the demand and new technologies released and it is ever growing with the cellular market.
In conjunction with the increasing demand for new technology in the cell phone market, the market for ‘malware’ or ‘spyware’ has increased. Cellphone forensics is a broad term within the digital forensics field that encompasses a variety of duties, notably, the ability to recover lost cell phone data, recover deleted text messages, analyze and extract call detail records, analyze and extract customer data integration, and detect and remove mobile ‘malware’ or ‘spyware’. Malware and Spyware are programs that enable the motivated brigand to spy on a user’s activities; from text messaging, email, incoming and outgoing phone calls and Tech location information. One of the most popular use of ‘malware’ and ‘ spyware’ is the active listening feature. Using this technology and software, individuals can monitor conversations within close proximity of the phone instantly by activating the speaker. This type of software is easy to install and easy to set up.
Spyware and Malware are both considered cyber crimes. These crimes can be extremely detrimental to you as an individual. Through using this software a criminal can determine personal information such as credit and debit card numbers from processes such as online banking or shopping or through hacking into sensitive information that you may have saved on your computer or cellphone. If the hacker is very lucky they may even be able to get your social security number. Identity theft is an ever growing problem and these cyber crimes are directly linked.
If you suspect your devices are being monitored illegally, our private investigators at Byrd, Stillinger, and Associates can use forensic software to determine if these harmful programs have been installed, even if they are advertised to be invisible and untraceable once installed. Our PI’s are also equipped to use cellphone forensics to un-install this software as well. Cellular phone forensic investigators at Byrd, Stillinger & Associates can find this ‘malware’ or ‘spyware’, no matter how crafty the creators and users of the harmful program think they are. They can and will be identified, and if necessary, prosecuted. Not only will our private investigators in Columbia, SC attempt to identify the software and the person behind it, but we will also educate you, the client, on how to best avoid and defeat these issues moving forward.
