The Creative Penn

Writing, self-publishing, book marketing, making a living with your writing

  • Write A Novel
  • Write Non-Fiction
  • Publishing
  • Marketing
  • Make a Living Writing
  • Author Mindset
  • Start Here!
  • Books
  • Podcast
  • Blog
  • Audio
  • Courses
  • Merch
  • Tools
  • About
    • Speaking
    • Press
  • Contact

Writing Tips: Digital Forensics for Screen Writers and Novelists

February 13, 2019 by Creative Guest 5 Comments

Tweet
Share9
Pin4
Share
Email
Pocket
Buffer13
Share
Reddit
26 Shares

It can be a challenge to keep up with technology in our real lives, let alone inside the books we write.

Digital Forensics for Screen Writers and NovelistsIn this article, cybersecurity expert Cynthia James offers tips to writers who want to make sure their handling of technology in legal circumstances is factual and authentic.

Want to be just a little more accurate with your plots that involve digital evidence?

Or do a better job writing about an investigator who is trained in technology?

Let’s look at the fun stuff first, two solid technology-oriented ploys which could work in real life. One can be used to change evidence AFTER it has been collected, and the other is a way for law enforcement to obtain data quasi-legally without a company knowing (no warrant).

Oops, the evidence changed…

We all know every police station has a least one evidence room. Most Law and Order fans also realize that it’s legally necessary to document every twist and turn the evidence takes, and with whom, between collection and court – this is called the Chain of Custody.

The idea here is to ensure there is no opportunity for the evidence to be altered from the time it is seized to the time it is presented in court.

However, digital evidence can be altered more easily than physical evidence, because it can be changed while it’s still locked away. For example: if a system is simply sitting on a shelf somewhere and it has at least some battery power left and there is a wireless network in the vicinity (where isn’t there?) this provides access to hackers.

Evidence BagWhy not frame someone by adding some salacious email or browser history to their PC about human trafficking or dealing drugs on the Dark Net?

It would also be a cinch to pre-program a device in advance to connect to the police station’s wifi without any human intervention, or to connect to a nearby wireless when it reaches the evidence room.

Once it’s connected to the internet, the device easily reaches back to whoever infected it in the first place and then follows the instructions received. This could include possible self-immolation, in case the hackers want to destroy other evidence in the same facility…or maybe the whole gambit is set up just to hack the police station network.

In any case, these are just some of the reasons a detective is supposed to remove the battery from any computer or phone which is seized; when ordinary citizens are hacked, what often occurs is that the laptop or PC wakes itself up at night, connects to the wifi, behaves badly, erases its tracks and goes back to sleep.

So the attorney’s question should be, “Was the battery was removed from the laptop before it was put into police evidence?” If we are to believe most movies we see, the answer would be, “Nah, that never occurred to us”.

And in fact, too few police investigators are trained on handling digital evidence, and this is usually overlooked.

Dang it, did you lose your data?

The biggest privacy problem with storing anything in the cloud (besides the fact that companies constantly mess up their security settings so it gets hacked) is that your data resides on a server alongside that of other tenants.

laptop the cloudIf one of those tenants commits a crime (think white collar, like SEC infringement), the entire server can be seized without notice, and your data goes along with it. This could be a cool way for investigators to discover evidence about a company that appears squeaky clean – it falls into their hands because the co-tenant broke the law.

Now the FBI or SEC isn’t supposed to share such evidence with local law enforcement, but that still happens via the loop-holes provided by the totally unconstitutional Patriot Act.

One challenge is that whoever is keeping your data in the cloud for you can be put under a gag order by the FBI where they are prohibited from admitting your data was seized.

A partial solution to this problem which we have used in high tech for many years is to add a contractual clause like a Warrant Canary. It works like this: you ask once a month if your data has been seized. If one month they don’t deny it, that’s effectively a “yes”.

Now onto the four basic rules

These should be applied by police detectives to all seized digital devices (soon we will need to include all other smart IoT home devices on the list too):

  1. If it is off, don’t turn it on (check for lights, heat, vibration). (If it’s confirmed to be off, take out the battery, bag it separately.)
  2. When removing evidence from a crime scene, be sure to not to mess up fingerprints and other bio evidence (hair follicles, skin) before hacking in.
  3. If it is on, don’t touch it unless you are fully trained in digital forensics.
  4. Collect all other media you can find at the scene which can be used to store data (including USBs, SIM cards, play stations, DVDs).

Complications of gaining access: Location

password managementAs we would expect, the forensics process also includes trying to obtain or guess passwords to all devices. The devices are then brought to a digital forensics lab to be accessed. However: multi-factor authentication now includes location in many cases, so it may be easier to hack a device from the perpetrator’s home. Interesting, eh?

Going back to the crime scene just to authenticate the user? There’s also a timing problem: if the perp has already logged in from a new location, the old location may be rejected.

Anyway, good luck fiction writers – accurate tech depictions are going to get harder over time before they get easier! If you have any questions about what is technically possible or plausible, please ask in the comments and I’ll do my best to answer.

Do you write contemporary fiction or mysteries that involve technology? How do you keep up with the tech changes your characters would encounter? Please leave your thoughts below and join the conversation.

Cynthia JamesCynthia James has spent over 25 years in the field of high tech with the last decade spent in cybersecurity. While working for the Russian cyber intelligence firm Kaspersky Lab, she obtained the top credential in her field, the CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional) and in 2016 completed a Master of Cybersecurity Strategy and Information Management from George Washington University.

She is currently founder and principal consultant of Cyberus Security, a firm who focus on protecting small and medium-sized businesses from cyber threats through on-site training and auditing. She lives in Silicon Valley and has written two non-fiction books, including Stop Cybercrime from Ruining Your Life! Sixty Secrets to Keep You Safe.

Tweet
Share9
Pin4
Share
Email
Pocket
Buffer13
Share
Reddit
26 Shares

Filed Under: Writing Tagged With: writing fiction

Comments

  1. Norbert says

    February 13, 2019 at 8:21 pm

    Great stuff, I can just see a lot of exciting plot twists based on this kind of thing.

    Reply
  2. Debra Melvin says

    February 13, 2019 at 8:46 pm

    love to read true and fiction crime, and alot of this is new to me- will there be more?

    Reply
  3. Judy says

    February 14, 2019 at 9:40 am

    Great post! Based on this, I picked up your book “Stop Cyber Crime from Ruining Your Life!” … This information will help with writing more believable and exciting plots … while also protecting my own devices.

    Reply
  4. MJ says

    February 15, 2019 at 12:51 pm

    very helpful – we creatives aren’t always tuned into the tech details. this could also confuse the timeline of a hacking crime in a corporation if the laptop responsible was auto-hacking while the hacker was establishing an alibi…

    Reply
  5. City Dog says

    February 18, 2019 at 4:51 pm

    Interesting information. Thanks.

    The one flaw in this, however, is that it’s not actually possible to easily remove the battery from most contemporary phones and tablets, as the battery is glued in and sometimes the case requires a special screwdriver to even open the case. The same applies to far too many laptops, including all recent vintage Apple laptops.

    All of the above is a bane of contention among users, but the manufacturers don’t really care. Saves them money and just enhances the planned obsolescence factor.

    Reply

Leave a Reply to Judy Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Become a more successful author

Looking for something?

Subscribe to the blog by email, or connect with me on social media

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Get started right now with links to the best content below!

Need a professional editor?

Need a professional book cover design?

Inspiration and Information every Monday!

Need help with book marketing?

Want to make a living writing? Here are some ideas how you can

How to set up your own author website in under 30 mins

Useful Books on Writing, Publishing, Marketing and Making Money Writing

My J.F.Penn author blog, for fans of my thriller novels

Stronger together! I’m a proud member of The Alliance of Independent Authors

Topics

  • Author Entrepreneur
  • Creativity
  • Ebooks and Technology
  • Intellectual Property Rights
  • Marketing and Promotion
  • Publishing Options
  • Writing

Recent Posts

  • Writing Tips: What Writers Can Learn From Bodybuilders
  • How To Effectively Work From Home With Amanda Brown, The Homepreneur
  • Writing Tips: Common Mistakes In Police Procedurals
  • Writing With A Family. Productivity Tips With Andrea Pearson
  • Tips For Self-Publishing In Translation: Adventures With AI and German
  • Writing Tips: Using Beats To Keep Readers Emotionally Engaged
  • How To Sell More Books With Reader Funnels With Mark Dawson
  • How To Outline A Non-Fiction Book So Readers Can’t Put It Down
  • How To Write Your Darkness With David Wright
  • Book Marketing: Engineer Your Book Launch Success With A DIY Strategy
  • From Bestselling Book To Netflix Series With Vikram Chandra, Author Of Sacred Games
  • 5 Tips To Help You Write A Novel In A Month #NaNoWriMo
  • Writing Tips: 6 Ways To Give Perfectionism The Boot
  • How To Be A Free Range Human With Marianne Cantwell
  • 12 Book Translation Tips For Authors

Archives

Thanks for visiting The Creative Penn!

Most of the information on this site is free for you to read, watch or listen to, but The Creative Penn is also a business and my livelihood. So please expect hyperlinks to be affiliate links in many cases, when I receive a small percentage of sales if you wish to purchase. I only recommend tools, books and services that I either use or people I know personally. Integrity and authenticity continue to be of the highest importance to me. Read the privacy policy here. I hope you find the site useful! Thanks - Joanna

Connect with me on social media

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
© Copyright Joanna Penn. The Creative Penn Limited. All rights reserved.

Search The Creative Penn

Inspiration and Information every Monday in The Creative Penn podcast

Thanks for visiting The Creative Penn

Most of the information on this site is free for you to read, watch or listen to, but The Creative Penn is also a business and my livelihood. So please expect hyperlinks to be affiliate links in many cases, when I receive a small percentage of sales if you wish to purchase. I only recommend tools, books and services that I either use or people I know personally. Integrity and authenticity continue to be of the highest importance to me. Read the privacy policy here. Read the Cookie policy here. I hope you find the site useful! Thanks - Joanna

Copyright © 2019 · Beautiful Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

I use cookies to ensure that I give you the best experience on this website. If you continue to use this site, I will assume that you are happy with this. Thank you. OkRead more