Computer forensics law and privacy

1. Computer Forensics
Law & Privacy
© Joe Cleetus
Concurrent Engineering Research Center,
Lane Dept of Computer Science and Engineering, WVU

2. Overview
Computer Crime Laws
Policy and Procedure
Search Warrants
Case Law
Intellectual Property Protection
Privacy
Ethics
2

3. Computer Crime
What is Computer Crime?
– Criminal activity directly related to the use of
computers, specifically illegal trespass into the
computer system or database of another,
manipulation or theft of stored or on-line data, or
sabotage of equipment and data.
– Criminal activity can also comprise the use of
computers to commit other kinds of crime:
harrassment, scams, hate crimes, fomenting
terrorism, etc
3

4. Computer Crime
What is a Computer Crime?
– Stealing trade secrets from a competitor
– Extortion
– Use of a packet sniffer to watch instant messaging
conversations
4

5. Federal Computer Crime Laws
4th Amendment
Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986
Electronic Communications Privacy Act of
1986
5

6. Federal Computer Crime Laws
Electronic Espionage Act of 1996
Communications Decency Act 1996
Child Pornography Prevention Act
Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998
COPPA - Children's Online Privacy Protection
Act
HIPAA - Health Insurance Portability And
Accountability Act
Access Device Fraud
USA Patriot Act
6

7. State Computer Crime Laws
Computer crime laws are state-specific
7

8. Case Law
What is case law?
– “Created” by the rulings of judges on court cases
Importance of case law?
– Very few laws governing current and emerging
technologies
– Precedents set by case law often become
legislative law
8

9. Computer Fraud and Abuse Act

10. Computer Fraud and Abuse Act
15 USC §1644 - Fraudulent use of credit cards;
penalties
18 USC §1029 - Fraud and related activity in
connection with access devices
18 USC §1030 - Fraud and related activity in
connection with computers
18 USC §1343 - Fraud by wire, radio, or television
18 USC §1361-2 - Prohibits malicious mischief
10

11. 15 USC §1644
Use, attempt or conspiracy to use card in
transaction affecting interstate or foreign
commerce
Transporting, attempting or conspiring to
transport card in interstate commerce
Use of interstate commerce to sell or
transport card
Furnishing of money, etc., through use of
card
11

12. Crimes and Penalties
Whoever in a transaction affecting interstate
or foreign commerce furnishes money,
property, services, (>$1,000) shall be fined
not more than $10,000 or imprisoned not
more than ten years, or both
12

13. 18 USC §1029
Counterfeit access devices
Telecommunications instrument modified to
obtain unauthorized use of telecommunications
services.
Fraudulent transactions using credit cards
Use of scanning receiver
13

14. Crimes and Penalties
Forfeiture to the United States of any
personal property used or intended to be
used to commit the offense
Fine under this title or imprisonment for not
more than 20 years, or both.
14

15. 18 USC §1030
Accesses a computer without authorization to
obtain restricted data.
Without authorization accesses Federal computers
Conduct fraud and obtains anything of value on
such computers
Traffics in passwords or similar information
15

16. Crimes and Penalties
The United States Secret Service has
authority to investigate offenses
Forfeiture of any personal property used or
intended to be used to commit the offense
Fine under this title or imprisonment for not
more than 20 years, or both.
16

17. 18 USC §1343
 Fraud by means of wire, radio, or television
communication in interstate or foreign commerce,
 Transmission of digital or analog data in such fraud
17

18. Crimes and Penalties
Fine under this title or imprisonment not more
than five years, or both.
If the violation affects a financial institution,
fine of $1,000,000 or imprisonment of 30
years, or both
18

19. 18 USC §1361-2
Prohibiting malicious mischief
Computer hacking/website defacement
19

20. Actual Crimes
 Many cases have been prosecuted under the computer
crime statute, 18 U.S.C. § 1030 (unauthorized access). A
few recent sample press releases from actual cases are
available via links below:
 Kevin Mitnick Sentenced to Nearly Four Years in Prison;
Computer Hacker Ordered to Pay Restitution to Victim
Companies Whose Systems Were Compromised (August
9, 1999)
Source:
http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/cybercrime/compcrime.html
20

21. Actual Crimes
Former Chief Computer Network Program
Designer Arraigned for Alleged $10 Million
Computer "Bomb"
Juvenile Computer Hacker Cuts off FAA
Tower At Regional Airport -- First Federal
Charges Brought Against a Juvenile for
Computer Crime
Source:
http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/cybercrime/compcrime.
html
21

22. Sample Cases
 http://www.daviddfriedman.com/Academic/Course_Pages/21st_cen
tury_issues/21st_century_law/computer_crime_legal_01.htm
 http://www.law.emory.edu/11circuit/june2000/99-12723.opn.html
 http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/cybercrime/cccases.html
 http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/cybercrime/garciaArrest.htm
 http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/cybercrime/jiangIndict.htm
 http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/cybercrime/schellersent.htm
 http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/cybercrime/usamay2001_2.htm
22

23. Electronic Communications Privacy
Act

24. Where Can I Find ECPA?
United States Code Title 18 Crimes and Criminal
Procedure
Chapter 119 – Wire and Electronic
Communications Interception and Interception of
Oral Communications
Sections 2510 - 2522
24

25. Overview of ECPA
President Reagan signed ECPA into law in
October 1986
Designed to extend Title III Privacy
Provisions to new technologies such as
electronic mail, cellular phones, private
communication carriers, and computer
transmissions
25

26. “The Wiretap Act”
This law required that enforcement agencies
obtain a warrant before executing a wiretap
(usually used to record voice conversations)
26

27. What Rights Does ECPA Provide?
 ECPA protects the transmission and storage of digital
communication such as email
 Authorities are forbidden to intercept non-voice
portions of communication, thanks to ECPA
 This is defined as "any transfer of signs, signals,
writing, images, sound, data, or intelligence of any
nature transmitted in whole or in part by a wire, radio,
electromagnetic, photoelectric or photo-optical
system."
27

28. ECPA Rights (cont.)
Act was designed to protect against electronic
communication service providers from
disclosing any contents of communication to
authorities without lawful consent of the party
that originated the communication
Act provided for coverage of all communication
providers, not just “common carriers” available
to the public
28

29. Cellular Phone Communication
Act also protects cellular phone
conversations; wired privacy extended to
wireless
Penalty for intercepting a non-encrypted call
is only a $500 fine, rather than the normal
maximum of 5 years in prison
Note: This act also explicitly states it does not
protect the “radio portion of a telephone that
is transmitted between the cordless telephone
handset and the base unit."
29

30. Radio Paging
ECPA also protects pagers
Voice and digital display pagers were
determined to be an extension of an original
wired communication
However, tone-only pagers are not protected
by ECPA
30

31. Customer Records
ECPA provides for the protection of
subscriber and customer records belonging to
electronic service providers
Authorities cannot access these records
without a search warrant and court order,
unless otherwise notifying the customer
31

32. References
http://www.digitalcentury.com/encyclo/update/
ecpa.html
http://floridalawfirm.com/privacy.html
32

33. USA Patriot Act

34. Some Perspective
On September 11, 2001, more
Americans were murdered than…
•American battle deaths in the war of
1812
•American battle deaths at Pearl
Harbor
•American battle deaths in the Indian
Wars
•American battle deaths in the
Mexican War
•American battle deaths in Vietnam
prior to 1966
•Union battle deaths at Bull Run
•Police officers killed in the line of
duty since 1984
34 Source: Federal Law Enforcement Training Center
Glynco, Georgia

35. USA Patriot Act – Oct 2001
Provides Tools To Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism
Some believe it was too hasty
– There were few conferences
– The House vote was 357-66
– The Senate vote was 98-1
35

36. USA Patriot Act
 Specifically, the Act:
1. Creates several new crimes: bulk cash smuggling,
attacking transportation systems, etc.
2. Expands prohibitions involving biological weapons
3. Lifts the statute of limitations on prosecuting some
terrorism crimes
4. Increases penalties for some crimes
5. Requires background checks for licenses to transport
hazardous materials
6. Expands money laundering laws and places more
procedural requirements on banks
7. Promotes information sharing and coordination of
intelligence efforts
36

37. USA Patriot Act
8. Provides federal grants for terrorism prevention
9. Broadens the grounds for denying aliens admission
10. Alters some domestic security provisions for DoD
 Most provisions of the Act shall cease to have effect on
December 31, 2005
 However, a USA Patriot Act II is being discussed in
Congress
37

38. Computer Crime
Penalty of 5 years for a first offense and 10 years for
a subsequent offense for damaging a federal
computer system
Damage includes any computer impairment that
causes the loss of at least $5,000 or threatens the
public health or safety.
38

39. Computer Crime
 To be found guilty, the person must:
1. Knowingly cause the transmission of a program,
information, code, or command that results in
damage to a protected computer without
authorization
2. Intentionally access a federal computer without
authorization and cause damage (§ 814)
39

40. Computer Crime
 The act requires the attorney general to create regional
computer forensic laboratories:
1. Examine seized or intercepted computer evidence
2. Train and educate federal, state, and local law
enforcement and prosecutors
3. Assist federal, state, and local law enforcement in
enforcing computer-related criminal laws
4. Promote sharing of federal expertise
 The act also provides funding for these facilities (§ 816)
40

41. Other Crimes / Penalties
Attacks Against Mass Transportation
Systems
– The crime is punishable by a fine, up to 20 years if
the violator traveled or communicated across state
lines or
The crime is punishable by life in prison if the
offense resulted in death
Counterfeiting
– The act makes counterfeiting punishable by up to
20 years in prison
41

42. Other Crimes / Penalties
 Harboring or Concealing Terrorists
– This crime is punishable by a fine and 10 years in prison
(§ 803)
 Biological Weapons
– This is punishable by a fine, and 10 years in prison
 Money Laundering
– This crime is punishable by 5 years in prison
– For Federal employees, the crime is punishable by a fine 3
times the value received, and 15 years in prison, (§ 329)
42

43. Increased Penalties
Arson from 20 years to life
Energy facility damage, from 10 to 20 years
Supporting terrorists, from 10 to 15 years
Supporting designated foreign terrorist
organizations, from 10 to 20 years
Destroying national defense materials, from 10
to 20 years
Sabotaging nuclear facilities from 10 to 20 years
Carrying a weapon or explosive on an aircraft
from 15 to 20 years
Damaging interstate gas or hazardous pipeline
facility, from 15 to 20 years
43

44. Information Sharing
 The act:
1. Foreign and national intelleigence surveillance can
exchange information (§ 504)
2. Regional information sharing between federal, state, and
local law enforcement (§ 701)
3. Attorney general can apply to a court for disclosure of
educational records to prosecute a terrorist act
4. Act also provides immunity for people who in good faith
disclose these documents) (§ 507, 508)
44

45. Privacy Implications
 American Civil Liberties Union: “The USA Patriot Act allows
the government to use its intelligence gathering power to
circumvent the standard that must be met for criminal
wiretaps. …
 The new law allows use of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance
Act surveillance authority even if the primary purpose were a
criminal investigation.
 Intelligence surveillance merely needs to be only for a
"significant" purpose.
 Law enforcement may search primarily for evidence of crime,
without establishing probable cause
 This provision authorizes unconstitutional physical searches
and wiretaps
45

46. Privacy Implications
 “In allowing for "nationwide service" of pen register and trap
and trace orders, the law further marginalizes the role of the
judiciary.
 It authorizes what would be the equivalent of a blank warrant
in the physical world: the court issues the order, and the law
enforcement agent fills in the places to be searched.
 This is not consistent with the important Fourth Amendment
privacy protection of requiring that warrants specify the place
to be searched.”
 In short, the USA Patriot Act assumes no “expectation of
privacy”
46

47. Case Study: Carnivore
TCP/IP packet sniffer developed by the FBI that has
the ability to store all traffic on a network
Intended Uses: Terrorism, Espionage, Child
Pornography/Exploitation, Information
Warfare/Hacking, Organized Crime/Drug Trafficking,
Fraud
Reassembles your e-mail, webpages, files and
searches for keywords
47

48. Case Study: Carnivore
Legitimate use vs. invasion of privacy
– Find out which web sites you visit
deathtoamerica.com
girlsgonewild.com
– Read your e-mail
bomb making instructions
love letters
– Save a copy of files you download
shoebomb.zip
transactions.zip
48

49. Case Study: Carnivore
 Pre-USA Patriot Act realities:
– FBI suspects you of criminal activity
– Requests court order to use Carnivore
– Installs Carnivore at your ISP
– Carnivore grabs all of your packets authorized in the court
order
– Carnivore must not grab anyone else’s packets
– Data physically collected once a day
– Court order expires in 30 days
 Post-USA Patriot Act fears:
– The FBI can use Carnivore to go fishing for personal
information
49

50. Related Cases
 John Walker Lindh – sentenced to 20 years in federal prison
 Conspiracy to Murder U.S. Nationals (18 U.S.C. § 2332(b)) (Count One)
 Conspiracy to Provide Material Support & Resources to Foreign Terrorist
Organizations (18 U.S.C. Defendant. ) § 2339B) (Counts Two & Four)
 Providing Material Support & Resources to Foreign Terrorist
Organizations (18 U.S.C. §§ 2339B ) & 2) (Counts Three & Five)
 Conspiracy to Contribute Services to al Qaeda (31 C.F.R. §§ 595.205 &
595.204 & 50 U.S.C. § 1705(b)) (Count Six)
 Contributing Services to al Qaeda (31 C.F.R. §§ 595.204 & 595.205, 50
U.S.C. § 1705(b) & 18 U.S.C. § 2) (Count Seven)
 Conspiracy to Supply Services to the Taliban (31 C.F.R. §§ 545.206(b) &
545.204 & 50 U.S.C. § 1705(b)) (Count Eight)
 Supplying Services to the Taliban (31 C.F.R. §§ 545.204 & 545.206(a),
50 U.S.C. § 1705(b) & 18 U.S.C. § 2) (Count Nine)
 Using and Carrying Firearms and Destructive Devices During Crimes ) of
Violence (18 U.S.C. §§ 924(c) & 2) (Count Ten)
50

51. Related Cases
 Zacarias Moussaoui – awaiting twice-delayed trial
 Conspiracy to Commit Acts of Terrorism
Transcending National Boundaries
(18 U.S.C. §§ 2332b(a)(2) & (c)) (Count One)
 Conspiracy to Commit Aircraft Piracy
(49 U.S.C. §§ 46502(a)(1)(A) and (a)(2)(B)) (Count Two)
 Conspiracy to Destroy Aircraft
(18 U.S.C. §§ 32(a)(7) & 34) (Count Three)
 Conspiracy to Use Weapons of Mass Destruction
(18 U.S.C. § 2332a(a)) (Count Four)
 Conspiracy to Murder United States Employees
(18 U.S.C. §§ 1114 & 1117) (Count Five)
 Conspiracy to Destroy Property
(18 U.S.C. §§ 844(f), (i), (n)) (Count Six)
51

52. Related Cases
 Interesting topics in Moussaoui case:
– U.S. District Court Judge Leonie Brinkema released a detailed
government report on the computers and e-mail search in the
case
– The evidence includes 140 computer hard drives, four of which
used by Moussaoui
– FBI investigators copied their hard drives using Safeback and
Logicube software
– Computer forensics experts were unable to find any trace of
Moussaoui's "xdesertman@hotmail.com" account or some 27
variations of that address
– A search of computers Moussaoui may have used at a Kinko's in
Eagan, Minnesota, also came to a dead end because Kinko's
cleans out the hard drives on its public computers once every
week
52

53. References
 http://www.epic.org/privacy/terrorism/hr3162.html
 http://archive.aclu.org/congress/l110101a.html
 http://notablecases.vaed.uscourts.gov/1:01-cr-
00455/docs/68092/0.pdf
 http://www.cise.ufl.edu/~nfarring/carnivore
 http://www.cga.state.ct.us/2001/rpt/olr/htm
 http://www.cise.ufl.edu/~nfarring/carnivore
53

54. Computer Privacy
© Joe Cleetus
Concurrent Engineering Research Center,
Lane Dept of Computer Science and Engineering, WVU

55. Privacy
What is privacy?
How is it determined?
– To determine and define what privacy is, we must
look at current law, case precedence, and public
opinion
55

56. Constitutional Search
4th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution
“The right of the people to be secure in their
persons, houses, papers, and effects, against
unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be
violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon
probable cause, supported by Oath or
affirmation, and particularly describing the place to
be searched, and the persons or things to be
seized. ”
56

57. Privacy
What websites are you visiting?
– Wireless internet
Where are you?
– GPS cell phones, vehicles with OnStar
What and where are you purchasing?
– Credit cards
Bluetooth- and RFID-enabled devices and
clothing
57

58. Security and Privacy
Security is a wider Concept
 Security of Information embraces:
– Confidentiality
– Integrity
– Availability
Achieving Security involves People,
Procedures, and Technology
The same is true for Privacy
58

59. Laws and Policies govern Privacy
Privacy is no longer a vague concept
It has been legislated
A body of case law exists
Federal laws, State Laws, Supra-national
laws
Even the US Constitution has a bearing
Lastly, companies have Policies
59

60. Topical Relevance
Massive on-line databases of people
Extensive on-line interactions between
companies
Millions of daily transactions between
companies and customers
Who owns all this, and who has a need to know?
60

61. Motivation for Companies
Maintain competitive edge
Ensure legal compliance
Enhance company image
Privacy is a requirement – not a customer delight
61

62. Many Privacy Rights are embedded in
Criminal Statutes
US Mail
Telephone conversation
Library borrowing
Bank records
Student records
Etc.
Federal and States
62

63. Plethora of Laws
FERPA
– Student records
ECPA Electronic Communications Privacy Act
– Most basic act for access, use, disclosure, interception
and privacy of electronic communications
Section 208 of The E-Government Act
– Federal agencies should protect PII collected
63

64. Plethora of Laws
 HIPAA Health Information Portability and Accountability
Act
– Medical records
 Gramm-Leach Bliley Act
– protects consumers’ personal financial information held by
financial institutions.
 The (Federal) Privacy Act of 1974
– FTC approved “fair information practices” that are widely accepted
principles of privacy protection
64

65. Plethora of Laws
 Section 208 of The E-Government Act
– Federal agencies should protect PII (personally Identifiable
Information) collected
 Sarbanes-Oxley
– accounting fraud
– securities-law violations
– Enhanced penalties for white collar crime
– executives directly responsible for problems
– Accurate records to be maintained for 5 years
 Basel II
65

66. Plethora of Laws
CAN-SPAM Act
– Has not yet succeeded in reducing unwanted e-mail
– New measures being agreed on by MS, Amazon,
Brightmail, etc to filter spam
Massachusetts court decided that ISPs may read
subscribers’ messages
– But all major ISPs disavowed any desire to read e-mail
66

67. Patriot Act
USA Patriot Act
– Negates almost every privacy prescription heretofore
stated, under special circumstances
– The circumstances are not tightly defined
– Hence, Governmental abuse is expected & has
happened
– Not only allows the Government to violate Privacy, but
mandates that companies collude in this
Is this the anti-law of Privacy?
67

68. Cookies and Privacy
 Simply surfing makes you the target of spyware
 Cookies placed on your computer can
– Profile your on-line behavior
– Track websites you have visited
– Trigger targeted pop-up ads
– Record search terms and form entries
 Security scanners like Spybot and Zone Labs can detect
and remove such intrusive cookies
 Try a free scan on your computer and see what you get:
– http://download.zonelabs.com/bin/free/cm/index4.html
68

69. Surfing Dangers
 Simply surfing can have your browser‑driven online
financial security information stolen:
– http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1618052,00.asp
 The attacker uploaded a small file with JavaScript to
infected Web sites and altered the Web server
configuration to append the script to all files served by the
Web server (IIS).
– No anti-virus program would stop it,
– no firewall would slow it down and
– no shipping IE security patch would even notice it.
– Visit the page, get the infection. It was that simple.
69

70. Surfing Dangers - Solution
Use Firefox (browser component of Mozilla, open
source)
That’s the recommendation of CERT
– http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/
You may not enjoy Active X (MS specific code in
some web-sites)
70

71. ISO/IEC 17799
Standard based on BS 7799
– Important, detailed, complex standard
– Covers People, Process and Technology
– A wide-ranging document on Information Security
– Has numerous recommendations in detail
– Companies can be certified against this standard
71

72. Understanding and Implementng ISO/IEC
17799
Start with Toolkit
– Full ISO17799 compliant information security policies
– Disaster recovery planning kit
– Road map for certification
– Audit kit (checklists, etc) for a modern network system
– Comprehensive glossary of information security
– Business impact analysis questionnaire
http://www.iso17799-made-easy.com/
72

73. Privacy Under Fire
Patriot Act
– 6 month wiretap without court order
“Patriot Act 2”
– More expansive laws than Patriot Act
Privacy vs. Freedom of Information Act
– School and University e-mails
Privacy vs. general public good
– Your best interests vs. 10 million+ peoples’
73

74. Laws Protecting Privacy
4th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution
Electronic Communications Privacy Act
HIPAA
Intellectual Property laws
– Copyright
– Trademark
74

75. Search Warrants
Obtained by law enforcement by testifying to
an uninvolved public agent of judicial review
naming
– The crime being investigated under probable
cause
– The specific location(s) to be searched
– The items and names of persons to be seized
75

76. Search Warrants
Search warrants do not solely apply to
physical domains
Also apply to wire taps, either phone or
network
Patriot Act expands the powers of law
enforcement, allowing for easier granting of
warrants requesting wire tap access
76

77. Search Warrants
Must be clear and concise
Items seized must be listed or at least
covered in the text of the warrant
Errors or omissions may result in evidence
being thrown out of court
77

78. Subpoenas
Subpoena –The process by which a court
orders a witness to appear (and sometimes
present evidence) at a judicial proceeding
and produce certain evidence for purposes of
discovery
For example, using ISP connection logs to
determine a particular subscriber’s identity
78

79. Court Orders
Court Orders – Official judge’s proclamation
requiring or authorizing the carrying out of
certain steps by one or more parties to a case
For example, using a packet-sniffer on an
ISP’s router to collect all packets coming from
a particular IP address to reconstruct an AIM
session.
79

80. Chain of Custody
Begins with seizure of items during the
execution of the search warrant
Accounts for every minute the items are in
custody
Must be maintained from seizure through
court appearance
Failure to maintain chain of custody may
result in inadmissibility of evidence
80

81. Chain of Custody
Important for businesses as a case may end
up in court
Failure to adequately show computer or item
did not have an opportunity to be tampered
with may result in an unfavorable judgment
81

82. Video
“Search and Seizure”
– U.S. Secret Service
82

83. Summary
Many legal issues facing technology and
computer forensics from start of investigation
through court testimony
Complexities and adaptability of technology
also potentially create a myriad of issues
Following well-documented procedures for
obtaining and handling evidence
83

84. References
 US Department of Labor / Office of Administrative Law Judges
www.oalj.dol.gov/faq19.htm - Supoena Form
 Cyberlaw: Problems of Policy and Jurisprudence in the Information Age – Patricia L. Bellia,
Paul Schiff Berman, David G. Post, Thomson/West 2003
 4th Amendment
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data/constitution/amendment04/
 IEEE Code of Ethics
http://www.ieee.org/portal/index.jsp?pageID=corp_level1&path=about/whatis&file=code.xml&xsl=gener
 COPS.org Code of Ethics
http://www.cops.org/ethics.htm
 Court Order
http://www.wordiq.com/definition/Court_order
84