DigForCE Lab helps local law enforcement and businesses investigate cybercrimes
Oct. 18, 2019
This is paid piece is sponsored by Dakota State University.
What would you do if your business fell victim to a cybercrime? Important work and personal files, bank information, emails and photos, gone in the blink of an eye. How would you get these files back? How would you catch the cybercriminal who stole them?
It’s a thought no business leader wants to consider. But when it comes to using technology in the work space, the reality of falling victim to a cybercrime is pretty high. In fact, according to Forbes, 58 percent of cyberattack victims are small businesses.
For businesses in South Dakota, action against these cybercrimes is now possible, thanks to local law enforcement and the DigForCE Lab at Dakota State University.
DigForCE, which stands for Digital Forensics for Cyber Enforcement, is part of the new Madison Cyber Labs, or MadLabs. DigForCE is a regional resource for law enforcement agencies and businesses that have been victimized by cybercriminals and have a need for the extraction, preservation and analysis of data from digital devices.
Trevor Jones, director of digital forensics services, joined Dakota State in October 2018 to help advance the DigForCE initiative.
“DSU’s renowned focus on cybersecurity is already keeping our country safe on a national and global level,” he said. “The next step is to try and bring that focus and talent to a more regional, state and local level.”
Jones works with Dr. Ashley Podhradsky, the associate dean of the Beacom College of Computer and Cyber Sciences at DSU, other DigForCE members and law enforcement agencies on cybercrime investigations. Sheriff Tim Walburg of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office has worked with DigForCE often throughout the past year and said he is excited to bring the partnership with DigForCE to fruition and potentially lower the number of cybercrime victims.
“With the ever-changing world of computers and crime, the need to address cybercrime has risen immensely,” Walburg said. “Luckily, DigForCE is on top of the most current and daily changes to cyber-related crimes. Our partnership with DigForCE will allow us to help victims of cybercrime and make the Madison community safer.”
DigForCE focus
With the number of digital devices available in today’s market, the DigForCE Lab has plenty of work ahead. It primarily focuses on:
- Computer forensic approaches for devices.
- Gaming console forensics.
- Insider threats.
- Internet of Things, or IoT, forensics.
- Mobile device forensics.
- Proof of concepts.
“These devices and focus areas have the propensity to contain evidence that shows a crime has occurred or proves the perpetrator guilty,” Jones said.
“Through lines of communication, photos, web history and even location services, these devices provide DigForCE and law enforcement with the evidence they need to investigate a cybercrime case.”
DigForCE also has experience with cybercrimes including:
- Hacking – when a hacker gains unauthorized access to system or computer data.
- Malware – a malicious software designed to cause damage to a device, client or network.
- Phishing – targets individuals to gain personal information such as passwords and credit card numbers.
- Ransomware – a form of malware that searches and encrypts data, and demands a ransom.
To complete investigations and validate evidence, DigForCE uses machines that are specifically engineered to work off a copy, like a hard drive or cache RAM, and analyze and parse out the many files or pieces of information relevant to the crime, even if the files have been deleted.
“Most of the issues we’ve used DigForCE for is digital hacking and email spams. In one instance, we received a spam email and, with DigForCE, were able to locate the responsible individual’s location,” Walburg said.
DigForCE also offers training primary to local law enforcement, covering topics that include safe internet habits, networking dangers, email scams and malware.
And because October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, which aims to raise awareness about the importance of cybersecurity, DigForCE strongly encourages businesses and individuals alike to be wary of daily internet and device usage.
“Be careful with your IoT devices. They can make you more vulnerable. The more you open up your door in the internet world, the more you open yourself to elements of cybercrimes. You have to make sure you lock your door,” Jones said.
To ensure your business takes the proper steps in keeping secure, follow this advice:
- Contact IT staff for any suspicious emails.
- Inspect URL and email addresses closely.
- Install backup software, and run it weekly.
- Keep passwords different, strong and secure.
- Keep software updated.
- Use multifactor authentication.
- Watch what you’re connecting to.
If your business has been a victim of a cybercrime, reach out to law enforcement.
“Contact your local law enforcement immediately, so we can start forensic work right away. Secure your computer. Don’t send, delete, or tamper with anything else on the system,” Walburg said. “The sooner the process is started, the quicker a possible resolution can happen.”
From there, local law enforcement can get in touch with DigForCE.
“We want to serve as many law enforcement entities as possible to meet their digital device examination needs and have that information be admissible in court,” Jones said. “Dakota State is a university that has an outstanding cyber reputation across South Dakota, the nation and on a global level. Our goal is to provide a resource that may be needed to satisfy certain elements of an investigation.”
For information, please email [email protected], call 605-256-5148 or click here.
