Ride The Lightning

PORN SURFING RAMPANT AT NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION

According to a report in The Washington Times, employee misconduct investigations, often involving porn surfing, have overwhelmed the National Science Foundation (NSF). The problems are reportedly so extensive that they have caused the agency's inspector general to cut back on the watchdog's primary mission of investigating grant fraud and recovering taxpayer dollars.

One senior official apparently spent 331 days looking at porn sites and chatting with nude or partially clad women, all without being detected. One does want to ask HOW THIS IS POSSIBLE in a day when it is relatively easy for employers to block websites in many categories with fairly inexpensive software.

From the theater of the absurd, this official offered a humanitarian defense when he was caught. He said he visited the porn sites to help poor women overseas make a living. I am sure that was uppermost in mind. Nonetheless, he gets points for originality - of all the nutty excuses I've heard, that one is a first.

The official has since retired. Good plan sir.

Hey NSF - if your guys can't figure out how to lock down your systems, give us call. Apparently, at the rate your guys are watching porn, our fees would start saving you money in about a week. Not a bad return on investment.

E-mail: snelson@senseient.com      Phone: 703-359-0700

www.senseient.com

http://twitter.com/sharonnelsonesq

WHAT MAKES A DRUG RAID A BLAST? WII BOWLING! STRIKE!

I talked earlier this week about how video evidence was becoming more and more prominent as a form of electronic evidence. Just to prove my point, we now have video evidence that police officers from three jurisdictions in Polk County, Florida - on a drug raid no less -  spent 9 hours playing Wii bowling. With all sorts of cavorting and jumping up and down when they got strikes, it was apparent that taxpayer dollars were hard at work.

I'll bet they wish now that they'd looked around and found that home security system camera before they so profoundly embarassed their departments. So how much does this tomfoolery go on when there's no video camera to bear witness?

E-mail: snelson@senseient.com      Phone: 703-359-0700

www.senseient.com

http://twitter.com/sharonnelsonesq

WHO'S BEEN VIEWING YOUR GMAIL?

Thanks to my colleague and friend Laura Calloway for this guest post:

There's been a lot of buzz lately about G-mail flaws and hacks. If you're curious about whether someone has been able to gain access to your account without your knowledge, G-mail has a feature which can help you find out.

Once you're signed in, at the bottom of the page you'll find a lot of fine print. Beneath where it indicates how much of your allotted storage space you're currently using, you'll see a line that gives the time and IP address of your last account activity. Click on the "Details" link, and you'll be taken to a window showing the last several times anyone signed in to your account, how (Browser, mobile, POP3, etc.), the IP address, and the time.

It will also tell you whether there is concurrent activity. There's also a button to allow you to close any concurrent sessions and link to allow you to change your password immediately. Whether or not your account has been compromised, isn't it time to change to a strong password now?

This post originated on the ABA TechShow blog - be sure to check it out - and we hope to see you there March 25-27, 2010.

E-mail: snelson@senseient.com     Phone: 703-359-0700

www.senseient.com

http://twitter.com/sharonnelsonesq

COMPUTERIZED SWIPE CARDS LEAD TO ACCUSED YALE MURDERER

The tragic death of Yale graduate student Annie Le, just before her wedding day, caught the attention of the nation. Now it appears that investigators had a bead on her possible murderer from the very beginning. Bloomberg reported that the man charged with her murder, Raymond Clark, entered a lab room using a computerized swipe card shortly after Le had entered. Her card was never used again.

Clark also swiped into the area where Le's body was found behind a wall, bones broken and body crushed in order to fit her into a wall opening approximately the size of a computer screen. She had been strangled. Clark, 24, was a laboratory worker who cleaned mouse cages. Thus far, authorities believe this is an instance of workplace violence, which has been on the upswing.

According to The New York Post, Clark accidentally tripped a fire alarm, possibly with his or Le's swipe card. Authorities also pored over 700 hours of videotape, spotting Clark after the building's evacuation, holding his head in his hands. His subsequent stuttering, nervous interview and his attempts to clean the lab (which proved to have blood splatters) further aroused suspicion. The Post reported that Clark had issues with Le about the way she kept her lab and her mice, feeling that she wasn't sufficiently clean.

Interesting how the very nature of electronic evidence has altered - computerized swipe cards and videotapes are now routinely a source of evidence - and can result in the swift apprehension of a murder suspect.

E-mail: snelson@senseient.com     Phone: 703-359-0700

www.senseient.com

http://twitter.com/sharonnelsonesq

FACEBOOK-ADDICTED THIEF LEAVES HIS IDENTITY BEHIND

As I say constantly, you can't make this stuff up. The world of electronic evidence can be wickedly funny.

Case in point: Pennsylvania resident Jonathan Parker (19) burglarized a home in Martinsburg, W.V. nabbing a couple of diamond rings in the process. In the owner's bedroom was her computer. Well, heck, why not check my Facebook page while I'm here, thought Jonathan (who is clearly a few french fries short of a happy meal). And then, to prove that he is a worthy candidate for the "Dumbest Burglar of the Year Award" - and the competition is stiff - he leaves his Facebook page open.

Pretty much a slam dunk for the investigators. He has been charged with felony burglary.

You may not win that award Jonathan, but the courts are likely to award you 1-10 years as a guest of the state. At least you won't have to worry about the rent for a while.

E-mail: snelson@senseient.com     Phone: 703-359-0700

www.senseient.com

http://twitter.com/sharonnelsonesq

NEW YORK TIMES DUPED BY HACKERS

The New York Times is wiping egg off its venerable face after being duped by hackers over the weekend. Readers of the online newspaper were assaulted by the classic pop-up ad advising them that their computers were infected and offering up bogus anti-virus software.

SC Magazine reported that the hackers originally ran legitimate ads for Vonage but at some point begun pumping out the malware. Vonage had previously advertised with the Times, so it allowed an unapproved outside vendor to deliver the ads. The newspaper has, unsurprisingly, decided not to allow unapproved vendors to deliver ads in the future.

The Times is not the first victim - The Daily Mail and Newsweek were hit previously by similar attacks, as hackers have sought to place their malware on legitimate sites with good reputations and large user bases.

The story certainly illustrates the importance of vetting all information placed on websites as well as those who provide the information. As always, the bad guys morph their tactics more rapidly than the good guys can keep pace.

E-mail: snelson@senseient.com       Phone: 703-359-0700

www.senseient.com

http://twitter.com/sharonnelsonesq

GUEST POST FROM THE MAC LAWYER ON IPHONE INSECURITY

Thanks to our friend and colleague Ben Stevens for putting up a post today on The Mac Lawyer blog in response to John's previous post on Ride the Lightning about the insecurity of the iPhone. I've reprinted Ben's post below with his kind permission:

"The words iPhone and security do not belong in the same sentence..."  So begins the article from John Simek, one of the premier computer forensic experts in the country.  It gets worse, as he says, "The iPhone encryption is a non-starter and accessing the device is child’s play even if it is password protected."  He concludes by saying "I love the iPhone. Not because of its technical superiority, but because its design gives us access to more electronic evidence than any other phone we’ve ever seen."

I know John and we have actually given presenations together at CLE seminars in the past.  He and I have discussed these alleged iPhone security flaws in the past, and I will be the first to say that I am far from an expert on these issues and I must defer to John's expertise.  Of course, as my readers now, I have an iPhone 3G-S and I love it.  However, I do not store any confidential or client data on it out of an abundance of caution.

John offered to print any responses from any IT / security folks and/or from Apple, and I will be glad to do the same here at The Mac Lawyer."

I think Ben's abundance of caution is wise. As I told Ben in an e-mail, I have been somewhat surprised, especially with the viral videos demonstrating the iPhone's insecurity, that Apple has failed to respond to anyone about the problems.

Both Ben and I would be happy to publish a response from Apple. Thus far, the silence has been deafening.

E-mail: snelson@senseient.com     Phone: 703-359-0700

www.senseient.com

http://twitter.com/sharonnelsonesq

CELL PHONE SPYWARE: A READER ASKS "CAN THEY REALLY DO THAT?"

Unfortunately, yes. Cell phone spyware can use satellites to constantly transmit your physical location to the person who is spying on you. It can transmit every e-mail and text message you type. It will allow the person who is spying on you to listen in on all your phone calls. Your stalker can also use the speaker function on the phone to listen in on your conversations – you don’t even have to be on the phone. The phone just has to be close enough to pick up the conversation.

Click here to see the video that prompted the reader’s question.

I asked John to comment about the video – here’s his response:

The short answer is “YES”  - this is all possible. The long answer is it depends on a lot of factors. Generally, you need physical access to the phone in order to install the requisite software to do everything in the video. That's another good reason to have your phone PIN protected. As an alternative, you can compromise some phones through Bluetooth. If you're stupid enough to have Bluetooth configured to look for partnerships on a constant basis, you deserve to be compromised (or at least your phone does). If you have a Smartphone, you could get compromised via an e-mail attachment or other file transmission. Still, having the phone physically in hand is the most common method of installation.

You need to look at the capabilities of the phone and the method of "infection." Certain software will only work with specific phone operating systems or models. The #1 rated spy software is FlexiSpy which will work with phones running Symbian, BlackBerry and Windows Mobile operating systems. It's not cheap at $349, but will do all the things shown in the video.

Remember that these are targeted installations for spying. You'll probably find this type of software most often in a divorce situation, where one spouse installs software on the other phone. Jealous loves are a good bet too. How would you prevent this? Keep your phone with you and make sure it is PIN protected at all times.

Privacy is something we once took for granted. Not any more.

E-mail: snelson@senseient.com        Phone: 703-359-0700

www.senseient.com

http://twitter.com/sharonnelsonesq

REFLECTIONS ON THE 2009 SOCHA-GELBMANN E-DISCOVERY SURVEY

The Labor Day weeked provided some reading time and I finally caught up with the summary of the 2009 Socha-Gelbmann e-discovery survey in Law Technology News (the full survey costs $5000, which is half the cost of one of our cruises, and I opt for the cruise). Previously, I had read some blog postings about it which prompted my last post about the EDD Gold Rush being over.

One piece of the survey seemed a bit strange. The survey claims that, after laying off folks months ago, EDD providers are scrambling to hire. This certainly runs contrary to the comments of those in the industry that I’ve talked to. Many firms are still laying off and some have simply folded their tents and disappeared into the desert.

It is true that some firms, particularly smaller firms, are doing very well. My guess has been that some business which used to go to higher-priced firms is now going to smaller shops. I certainly know we’ve watched that happen at Sensei Enterprises, as some of the large law firms that have recently engaged us have confirmed that they’ve switched companies primarily because of cost.

The survey concludes that very few lawyers “get” EDD and I would concur with that. Sometimes, at the Sensei lunch table, even I have only a minor clue as to what my computer forensics technologists are talking about. Though I am widely regarded as an “expert” and frequently teach computer forensics and EDD, I would characterize myself humbly as one the lawyers who 'get' EDD. When my technologists go deeply into the science of what they do, they enter a terrain where only their peers can follow.

I also agree with George and Tom that the pretended “deep EDD expertise” that many law firms claim is largely bogus. There are far more who “talk the talk” than “walk the walk.” It has always seemed more marketing than truth.

As the survey notes, many law firms have tried to bring EDD in-house as a revenue stream. I would certainly caution their clients about the wisdom of using law firm EDD departments. Not only do the firms have a vested interest in the results, their expertise is frequently questioned – and, most importantly, their costs are often higher than that of private firms.

Moving EDD into corporations makes sense up to a point, but I agree with what the survey indicates, that the “best of the best” tend to go to private companies where their expertise is apt to become broader and deeper – and the salaries tend to be higher.

The survey also notes the growth of interest in early case assessment, which is indeed critical. The better you assess and plan, the lower the volume of data to review – and review is the biggest cost in the entire process.

As always, the survey is interesting. I always question self-provided data, on which the survey is based. “Self-provided” always smacks of “self-interested” to me. This is the first time I’ve seen George and Tom say that some folks declined to provide data, others provided only selected data and still others promised data that was never provided.  Personally, I think many folks clammed up because the news wasn’t good. EDD is no longer the golden goose, and I suspect companies don’t want to reveal how few golden eggs they’ve harvested. Silence reveals nothing.

E-mail: snelson@senseient.com         Phone: 703-359-0700

www.senseient.com

http://twitter.com/sharonnelsonesq

 

THE EDD GOLD RUSH IS OVER

“Greed is good.” No one could intone those words with the sincerity of Michael Douglas playing “Gordon Gekko” in the movie Wall Street.

Indeed, Wall Street continues to operate on that premise with distressing results for all of us.

But the economic downturn has been a wake-up call for the EDD industry. Litigation budgets have been slashed. Corporations are choosing not to file suits, to settle those already in the courts and turning to arbitration when new conflicts arise. Not completely of course, but everyone has felt the tightening of litigation wallets.

There are still plenty of EDD vendors, but some of the old faces are gone. Companies have folded, companies have merged or been acquired. In general, the end of 2008 and the beginning of 2009 was not kind to e-discovery vendors. There has been some rebound, but the days of having clients cheerfully pay 500% of value are over.

Clients are cost-conscious – and they’re shopping. George Socha of Socha Consulting, long a professional surveyor of the EDD space, reports that EDD spending will increase this year by 20% to $4.05 billion. But his surveys also indicate that growth has slowed from previous annual rates of more than 40%. Margins have started to decrease.

Gartner has estimated that, by the end of this year, one in four software vendors will be acquired, merge or exit the e-discovery business. Socha agrees and thinks that consolidation will reduce the number of service and software providers by about two-thirds to as few as 200.

I agree with his statement that “the market truly cannot support this many vendors in the long haul.” I am also happy to agree with his statement that there will always be room for smaller service players, as Sensei Enterprises is one of them.

Is the damage worse than portrayed? I’m inclined to think so. My friends in “big EDD” report closed offices and reductions in force. In the smaller firms, and some of the larger ones, almost everyone had to tap their credit lines several times. Even those that have survived have a hell of a hole to backfill.

Law firms and corporations continue to try to bring EDD and computer forensics in-house. Some portion of this is sensible and some portion is doomed to failure. Self-interest in the results will be a constant problem. The competence of their in-house specialists will also be challenged – and many are not up to the challenge.

For the short term, I expect a lot of upheaval in the e-discovery space. Just like lawyers, some of what we do will be commoditized. Our prices will have to be more competitive and we’ll have to get rid of inefficiencies. We should never have had a blank check – and now we don’t. Those who are both good – and honest – will probably emerge from the economic darkness if they are not too heavily in debt.

All gold rushes end. The e-discovery gold rush is now history, and unlikely to be repeated. Those who have the “greed is good” mentality are, as my now-grown children used to say “outta here.”

E-mail: snelson@senseient.com       Phone: 703-359-0700

www.senseient.com

http://twitter.com/sharonnelsonesq