Free DME & DFIR Resources

Posted on behalf of the City of Eugene, Oregon.

Application period: August 1 at midnight - Oct. 10, 2008

FORENSIC ANALYST
City of Eugene
$25.41-$32.40 / Hour (*salary currently under negotiation)

Performs a variety of complex and specialized technical tasks collecting, preserving, and identifying criminal evidence at the crime scene and/or analyzing evidence in the laboratory; analyzes evidence in conjunction with investigation activities and provides expert testimony in court on methods and results of analysis. One year of general work experience required. Work experience in an analytical or forensic laboratory is preferred. Requires a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology, Chemistry, Microbiology, Biochemistry or Forensic Science.

For those that do not know, Websense is a Web/Email security company that now sells a multitude of products, to include software and hardware.  Many government agencies use them, as ours did initially when I was with a NY agency, and quite frankly my first-hand experience with them was more problematic than problem-solving.  I totally get error-ing on the side of caution, but at the same time find overly cautious classifications based on IP addresses is not the way to filter the Web; especially given that the vast majority of the Web is hosted on shared servers.  Anyway, since I've responded to a few of these email inquiries from our users lately, I figured I share my canned email response globally with all users....

Stumbled on to a well done video from Computerphile called "How Blurs & Filters Work", which I thought some of you may find interesting. Discussion centers on what an image kernel is and how they're used in image processing. Video is under 8 minutes and is embedded after the break. Enjoy.

I’m excited to announce that I’ll be attending this year’s 100th IAI Educational Conference in Sacramento, CA. This year’s conference is anticipated to be one of the largest, as it’s the IAI’s Centennial event. I will be there representing my employer, Ocean Systems, and we will be showcasing our latest Digital & Multimedia Evidence (DME) solutions in the event's Exhibit Hall.

For more information about the event visit the IAI 100th International Educational Conference web site. Hope to see you there!

Popular media player VLC has been pulled from Apple's App Store at the request of one of the program's original developers--in a move that's caused some hard feelings in the world of open-source software.

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George Reis, Media-Geek.com member and well respected digital imaging author/instructor, has posted a brief survey on law enforcement's use of digital asset management systems. George is working on an article pertaining to the topic, which he will make available via his Website www.imagingforensics.com in a few weeks.
Click here to take the brief survey.

If you haven't already, you should check out George's book on using Photoshop CS3 in your forensic workflow...simply click on the image to the right to visit Amazon.com for further details.

Intel Monday announced a new line of solid-state drives (SSDs) that are based on the serial ATA (SATA) 3.0 specification, which doubles I/O throughput compared to previous-generation SSDs.

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The Cheshire Constabulary will be hosting the LEVA Photographic/Video Comparison course in the United Kingdom April 26 - 30, 2010. This is the same highly regarded course that will be held at the LEVA Lab at UIndy again in May.

Photographic/Video Comparisons focuses on the science of comparing known objects, vehicles, clothing and humans with CCTV images of questioned objects, vehicles, clothing and humans. The process of cataloguing class characteristics and unique characteristics found in questioned evidence is examined in detail. Using Adobe Photoshop and other generally accepted scientific tools for imaging comparison work, analysts/examiners develop a scientific workflow involving the hands-on analysis of video evidence, criminal-case report writing and courtroom presentation.

For information on all of LEVA's training courses, including a complete schedule, please visit our LEVA Course Overviews & Schedule page.

Adobe yesterday patched 29 vulnerabilities in Reader, its PDF viewer, and 13 more in Flash, the popular Web media browser plug-in, as part of an even larger quarterly security update.

It was the first time that Adobe patched Reader X, the upgrade it issued last November that includes a "sandbox" anti-exploit technology in the Windows version.

Nearly all the Reader bugs were rated "critical," meaning that they could be exploited by attackers to plant malware on an unpatched system, although for several, Adobe wasn't certain that remote code execution was possible. Two of the 29 could lead to cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks, a common tactic by identity thieves who target browsers.

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Ocean Systems will be providing a free 3-hour seminar entitled "From Acquisition to Prosecution: Understanding the Value & Challenges of Digital Video Evidence" on December 8th in Miami, FL. This free seminar provides helpful information for all of those involved in the digital video evidence chain, too include prosecutors, law enforcement command staff, first responders, support staff, as well as technicians and analysts.

Senior level law enforcement professionals have an awful lot on their plate, and the pace of technological advancement keeps heaping it on faster and faster. Bleeding edge and cutting edge technologies are absolutely necessary in the military and law enforcement, but so is common sense. Take for instance the plethora of stories over the last year or so on Harris Corporation’s Stingray and Hailstorm.

According to the FBI, digital evidence is present in nearly every crime scene.   Increasingly, this evidence is found on handheld devices such as cell phones, GPS’, iPods—and is leading investigators directly to a suspect’s door—sometimes within hours of a crime taking place.

Register now for the FBI’s Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory (RCFL) Program's free webinar for law enforcement and government officials.  Participants will learn the proper handling of handheld devices at crime scenes, basic data recovery, legal issues and more.

Questions? Send an email to npo@rcfl.gov or visit www.rcfl.gov.

CNET - Older hard-drive enclosures may be limited in the size of drive they can present to your system.

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