Week 8 final
PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT ON HACKING 2
PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT ON HACKING 2
Personnel Management on Hacking
American Military University
ISSC630
8 May 2022
Introduction
The office of personnel management having encountered cyber-related attacks launched an investigation on the incidents that are gaining significant fame in this generation. Harking has become a common crime according to the office of personnel management reports. To cub this crime from gaining roots we launched an investigation on cybercrime specifically hacking that target specific people in society. This report was to present the relevant evidence that has been presented following the previous reports in the progress related to this investigation. His is presented to ensure the culprits involved in cybercrimes face federal charges for their actions in a judicial manner.
The criminals through hacking were able to obtain personal information of the citizens which made them targets of blackmail and extortion due to the vulnerability of the accessed information. The hackers used malware planted into the systems that gave them access to the information of the targeted people they had in mind. We followed this malware since they were easy to detect and had a signature that related to the person who performed the hack. Following the footprints and signatures left behind by the hackers, gave us the clue on how to find and track the hackers. the federal government put tabs on the internet in case of any unusual activities to help trap the hackers.
Key findings
Digital footprints if one of the ways that help the federal government IT personnel follow and investigate matters concerning cyber-attacks. During the operation of criminal attacks, the government looks for fingerprints that can be used to incriminate criminals as evidence during the presentation of a case in court (Hanser, 2020). We collected this evidence as the investigations were ongoing and stored in the evidence room. This evidence can be used to track back the individuals that were related to the attack. The digital footprints left by the hackers and the malware that was used to carry out the attack had IP addresses that were used to pin down where the hacking process was being done. The reports indicated the origin of the hack was related to Chinese citizens and one from Pakistan.
The federal instigators had to carry out more investigations to find out more about the hackers who were caught. This they did through interrogation to find out more information related to the case. Interrogation is a way of obtaining information from criminals that will help the investigators present evidence beyond doubt in a criminal proceeding (Lu et al., 2021). By using psychological aspects of interrogation, it was clear that the groups related to the attack have committed more attacks before the current attacks that were committed. Psychological profiling helped to determine why the attacks were being carried out and establish profiles for the suspects and connections to certain groups.
Search warrants are required in an investigation to gain access to the information or a place where the investigation officers are optimistic to find the crucial evidence that can be used in the court to incriminate a suspect during prosecution (Hanser, 2020). This allows the police to search for evidence even without the occupant’s consent. This is required for a fourth amendment search and is subject to a few exceptions. The reasonableness search generalizes the search and is not limited to a particular place. Anticipatory warrants are used for cases where the police have probable cause and they are sure evidence will be found in that place. By presenting the key findings that were related to the case to the judge, this is the footprints and the IP addresses to be able to obtain a search warrant to help the investigative officers find more evidence to help have a stronger argument against the criminals.
In this case, after pinpointing the IP address of the hackers the investigators had to obtain an anticipatory warrant that would give access to the residence where that address pointed. This gave a clear pass to search and arrest the people within that premises (Kacker, 2021). The address led to the four suspects who the investigator anticipates would be the participants in the cyberattacks related to the hacking. The officers breached the residence upon pieces of evidence that would help prove the participants were involved in the criminal activity of hacking and cyber-attacks.
The evidence that was found at the crime scene were hard drives that were used to store personal information after the hacking process was completed. The forensic officers bagged the drives to be taken to the lab for examination and retrieval of evidence that could be used in court. Various computers in the room indicated the people who were in that room were more than the four people found in the residence (Lu et al., 2021). The computers had the digital signatures that were used to carry out the attacks on the internet. The malware that was used was stored in flash disks that were easily portable and simple to connect to a server or personal computer.
Personal fingerprints in the servers that were hacked were also found in the room where the group carried out their attacks. These were fingerprints related to the Pakistan citizen who was the one inserting the malware into the servers that were being attacked by the group. They had video surveillance footage that was removed from the cameras in the places that they were hacking. This was clear evidence of the criminal activities the group was involved in. These videos presented in court will help us find justice for the people who fell victim to these criminals.
The forensic team had to collect all the evidence abstained in that room for processing to help the investigative officers connect the dots in their case. After processing the evidence presented and from the reports, the data indicated that the criminals were part of the hacking group and others are involved and the fingerprint of all the participants was used to identify who the participants were in the cyber-attack (Kacker, 2021). A case was filled and the evidence collected was presented in the court to open a case for the criminals since there was enough digital and physical evidence that tied the individuals to the crime.
Conclusion
The office of personnel management through an accumulation of the small pieces of evidence finally had a breakthrough on the case that led to arresting the criminals. Cyber-attacks are a hard case to crack as seen in various reports. It is time and resource-consuming, attaining digital evidence can be time-consuming since there are protocols to be followed to obtain the evidence. The use of search warrants is helpful in an investigation. This allows the police and investigative officers to crack their cases open. Obtaining evidence is key to winning cases. In this case, the search warrant helped to gain access to the criminals and to attain the evidence that was required to open a case for the individuals involved in cyber-attacks.
References
Hanser, R. D. (2020). Gang-related cyber and computer crimes: Legal aspects and practical points of consideration in investigations. International Review of Law, Computers & Technology, 25(1-2), 47–55. https://doi.org/10.1080/13600869.2011.594656
Kacker, P. (2021). GAP INDIAN JOURNAL OF FORENSICS AND BEHAVIOURAL SCIENCES ROLE OF FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY IN CYBER INVESTIGATION. https://www.gapijfbs.org/res/articles/(14-18)%20ROLE%20OF%20FORENSIC%20PSYCHOLOGY%20IN%20CYBER%20INVESTIGATION.pdf
Lu, Y., Van Ouytsel, J., & Temple, J. R. (2021). In-person and cyber dating abuse: A longitudinal investigation. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 38(12), 3713–3731. https://doi.org/10.1177/02654075211065202