How a Computer Expert can Help to Prevent or Report Cyber Attacks
Businesses were forced to advise their employees to telecommute as a result of the outbreak of the pandemic, and many of them still have part or all of their staff out of the office.
Although the coronavirus crisis has pushed the self-employed and SMEs to accelerate the digital transformation that they so badly needed, the truth is that this increase in the use of new technologies has also brought some negative consequences.
According to figures published by the Government, the State Security Forces and Bodies registered 287,963 allegedly criminal acts related to information and communication technologies in 2020, 32% more than in 2019.
This increase in cybercrime largely affects smaller businesses that do not have as many security measures as large companies. They can suffer from theft of information or business bank accounts by hackers and even the competition to misuse their employees’ data and technological tools.
Faced with these new risks, one of the professions that have become increasingly relevant is computer expertise, a trade that, despite being booming, is still largely unknown to companies and the general public.
The function of these professionals is the prevention and provision of evidence to fight against all kinds of crimes committed through technology: from cases of espionage or revealing secrets; crimes against intellectual property or interference with the privacy of individuals; even illegal access to documents or files of a business; justification of dismissals for inappropriate use of technology; dissemination of private data of a company; and in general, any crime committed through automated means.
The help that these professionals provide to the self-employed and SMEs can be twofold: small businesses can find out if they are exposed to or have suffered a cyberattack, and, in addition, they can also report it with the evidence collected by the expert.
He explains to this newspaper what his profession consists of and what help he can provide to the self-employed and small businesses.
What is a Computer Expert
What is the Role of a Computer Expert?
The function of the computer expert is to collect, through forensic procedures, all the computer evidence that has been involved in some computer incident that is likely to be taken to a legal proceeding, to subsequently analyze said evidence and transform it into evidence, writing a report. Computer expertise that can defend can defend before a Court of Justice.
In what cases can any business need the services of a computer expert? What frequent problems of freelancers could you solve?
There are many cases in which the help of a computer expert is essential to resolve a legal incident in which computers intervene.
For example, when dismissing a worker for improper use of computer tools, when resolving a phishing or identity theft incident involving two companies and one of them, when making a payment, makes the entry into a different bank account, when resolving possible intrusions and their judicial investigation (unfair competition, exfiltration of company data, etc.). The range of cases is very high.
What Kind of Clients Request your Services?
Of course. Most of the clients are individuals and small businesses, although I also have large corporations from gaming, aviation, prepared food, and even public figures as clients. Computer evidence is becoming more common in any legal proceeding, so a computer expert is necessary for many situations.
What are the Most Common Computer Crimes that Companies Face?
CEO scam (phishing), intrusions, unfair competition, exfiltration of company data by an employee, industrial espionage, company computer file encryption, ransomware, etc.
What is the Most Curious Case you have Intervened
The most curious cases are those in which someone has hired a false computer expert without official qualifications, pretended to be real to the client, and did a botched job of acquiring and analyzing the evidence, destroying the chain of custody.
The party accused of committing the alleged crimes hires me, and, through a good report against an expert, I can dismantle the accusation because the initial expert contaminated the evidence.
It is very important if you want to put together a good accusation of a computer crime,
What are the Tools Used by a Computer Expert?
A computer expert uses hardware and software tools. In our lab, in terms of hardware, we have forensic cloners, write blockers, data extraction, and analysis tools on mobile phones like the Cellebrite UFED Touch 2, etc.
In terms of software, we try to have a proprietary and open source (free software) forensic analysis tools, which strengthen the analysis of any evidence.
