Reference no: EM133191895

Question: Hopefully you are all doing well and will continue to do well as long as we need to be quarantined.  I know personally speaking that it has been pretty rough with the quarantine part because I am stuck at home with very little physical activity for myself and my children, pretty miserable to say the least.  This week we are focusing on mobile phone (smart phone) and PDA applications and out of six of the software tools that were given to us to choose from, I chose to write about Device Seizure from the producers Paraben.

Paraben is a producer who created the forensic too called Device Seizure, otherwise known as DS; the device that is used for all things involved with forensics is not only handheld, but powerful also as it allows the user or investigator to perform logical and physical acquisitions for data, the recovery of deleted data, and finally - entire data dumps on exactly 2400 models of mobile devices like PDA's and smartphones (Hoog, 2011, pp. 1).  The main goal of the forensic tool is to retrieve data from these mobile devices in the best way possible, which just happens to be software applications.  As an organization, Paraben is known for their incredible capability to keep up with the technology that comes forth with every jump in technological advances; this means that every time technology jumps to a newer level of sophistication, Device Seizure will still have the capabilities of acquiring multimedia files such as messages (text), images, video and audio files (Hoog, 2011, pp. 2).

1.  Passwords are the primary method used to verify the identity of users, and the security of passwords must be of utmost importance to protect not only the user but the network as well. Passwords present significant risk factors in terms of security in information systems, as they are vulnerable to attacks mainly due to user behaviors and practices, but not necessarily related to the password system itself. Therefore, the most important thing a user can do to protect an account from hacking is to create a strong password. Morris emphasizes that "authentication is one of the most critical areas in computer security, and the use of traditional text-based passwords has been well studied. However, this type of authentication mechanism has drawbacks" (742). There are several methods to add security to systems, and therefore, a secure password, depending on the computer's operating system, can use encryption programs. For example, in Linux OS we can use shadow file formats. "The shadow password format stores account information in the /etc/passwd file in a compatible format, and the password is stored as a single "x" character (i.e., not stored in this file). The /etc/shadow file is readable only by the root account and is, therefore, less of security risk" (Linux). We need to be aware that hackers will try to use any means to crack passwords. If an attacker can access the computer as a regular user, they can run any number of password cracking programs against it.  A shadow password could eliminate this type of attack by storing the password hashes in the / etc / shadow file readable by the root user. This forces the potential attacker to try to discover the password remotely but the attacks are much slower and leave visible traces, as failed connection attempts are logged to the system files. "Hackers can calculate the percentage of passwords which can be cracked with the implemented algorithm given several guesses" (Morris, 2019, pg. 745).

2. Computer hacking can be justified and there are specific guidelines when this is applicable. As we know the rapid pace of technological advancement often makes even prudent legislation obsolete after a relatively short period of time. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is dated from 2003, however, an update on the privacy rule on the health data legislation provides de answer to this question. First, let's see what constitutes a security breach in this new privacy rule. "An impermissible use or disclosure of protected health information is presumed to be a breach unless the covered entity or business associate, as applicable, demonstrates that there is a low probability that the protected health information has been compromised based on a risk assessment of at least the following factors" (HIPAA). As we can see, it sounds logical and feasibly to "hack" a computer under the emergency circumstances as long as the hacker can demonstrate it was done under the condition prescribed by law. The HHS HIPAA Privacy Rule further clarifies this procedure. "Covered entities may use and disclose protected health information without individual authorization as required by law (including by statute, regulation, or court orders). Covered entities may also disclose to law enforcement if the information is needed to identify or apprehend an escapee or violent criminal" (HHS, 2000).
 
3. The term cyberstalking appears in the media with increasing frequency. Cyberstalking may cause psychological distress similar to that of real-world stalking" (Dreßing, et al., 2009). Cyberstalking continues to be a major problem in the US, and it is as rampant as ever, despite efforts by major technology companies to reduce bullying and harassment. The majority of the cyberstalks are men and the majority of the victims are women. In many cases the cyberstalking and the victim had a prior relationship, however cyberstalking by strangers is increasing due to the easy access to social media victim's information, including pictures, phone numbers, addresses, etc. In January 2020, a Texas man was arrested and charged with cyber-stalking female real estate agents in the Waco area. The investigation began in Texas after about a half-dozen female real estate agents in the Waco area received sexually explicit photographs sent from cellphone numbers they didn't recognize. They also received photos of their own children, evidently copied from social media pages. The photos of their children were accompanied by descriptions of what the stalker, or stalkers, would like to do to the children sexually, according to detectives" (KLTV, 2020)