What is Facial Recognition in Video Forensics?

Facial recognition in video forensics is the kind of technology that allows for identifying a human face by analyzing the facial features and comparing the virtual imaging against a database of photos to find a match.

Thanks to its widespread usage and implementation, it acts as an efficient deterrent of crime since would-be criminals are smart enough to realize their actions are being monitored. Should they decide to break the law, uncovering their true identity and prosecuting them would be easier than at any other point in the history of humankind.

Apart from its place in crime and digital forensics investigations, video facial recognition also shapes the future of our society by reducing queues and streamlining several essential processes in a variety of industries, most of which we’ve covered in this post.

If you stick around to the very end, we’ll also give you a glimpse into the other side of the argument by providing an overview of the most common concerns and criticisms surrounding the topic.

Let’s dive right in!

6 Types of Database Hacks Use to Obtain Unauthorized Access

Modern-day hackers are truly a force to be reckoned with, so much so that skilled database hacks can be in and out without the administrator even noticing. As a result, many databases remain compromised for ages. Since databases tend to store data of sensitive nature, saying this is merely a nuisance to deal with would be a gross understatement.

Worse yet, sometimes the database hackers get in not due to their above-average hacking abilities, but because the webmasters employ poor cyber security practices such as having a weak password in place, failing to install updates regularly enough, or misconfiguring the database settings, all of which opens the door wide open to a potential cyber attack.

On the flipside, even if the database is configured correctly, as much as 20,000 connections may be trying to access it at the same time, so even with proper software, it’s next to impossible to know what each of them are doing. Couple this with the fact than an organization could have hundreds or even thousands of databases active at any single time, and the last remnant of hope is lost – getting things under control remains nothing but a distant dream.

Man in dark holding paper

Too often, all a hacker needs to do is take advantage of someone’s laziness, lack of care, or lack of education.

10 Cyber Security Threats and Risks to Avoid

In the past, threats of physical nature used to be our primary concern as civilizations attempted to survive against constant attacks from predators, rival tribes, and other threats. But in the digital era of today, cyber security threats 2023 are a rising trend which calls for every law enforcement department to get at least a basic education about them.

To stand a chance of being able to defend against them, you first need to know what they are. The cyber threat landscape involves data-stealing malware, sophisticated DDoS attacks, and even some malicious forgeries of otherwise legitimate websites that are typically used as part of a phishing attack.

To get you on the right track, we’ve prepared a comprehensive list of cyber threats digital forensics investigators often need to deal with in practice. The goal is for you to take that knowledge and further your understanding of this crucial area of IT and cyber security, thus allowing you to mount a strong defense.

What Does It Take to Become a Digital Forensic Analyst?

Digital forensic analysts play an important role in cyber crime investigations. They’re the go-to experts that work with law enforcement agencies and police departments to solve complex crimes. To do so, they take an in-depth look at virtual traces left behind by criminals, even though they’re often masterfully concealed.

But unlike how this line of work is often portrayed in popular culture, a digital forensic analyst can’t magically waltz through every anti-forensic measure and the digital forensics investigation can take weeks or even months instead of minutes or hours like you often see on TV. Nevertheless, if you’re willing to put in the hours of hard work and study, this can be a rewarding career that enables you to become a force of good in our society.

The objective of this post is to be the best career guide for you to follow and source information from.

By following along, you will learn:
  • what skills are necessary to pursue this fulfilling yet challenging career?
  • what the step-by-step process is to obtain the necessary education??
  • why it’s a great opportunity in terms of salary you can expect as compensation for your good work.

Ensuring Digital Forensics Integrity: The Significance of Chain of Custody Cyber Security

Occasionally referred to as “paper trail”, the chain of custody cyber security is an important concept in digital forensics as well as the modern judicial system.

The primary objective is to ensure that the digital evidence in question is legitimate, hasn’t been tempered with, and that it can stand in court. The protocol requires documenting everything in relation with the digital evidence in question and outlines the details surrounding its:

  • Collection
  • Transfer
  • Sequence of control
  • Analysis
  • Who was in its custody
  • Date and time of events
  • Purpose

If any particular detail regarding the handling of digital evidence is omitted, its quality may come under question, and the court may rule it out as inadmissible.

In law enforcement, you will often encounter situations that require at least a basic understanding what the chain of custody for digital evidence is and how to maintain it as to not compromise the evidence that can be vital to the resolution of the case.

To make this complex issue easier to understand, we’ve prepared a comprehensive guide for you to follow.

18 Areas of Computer Forensics Services in a Nutshell: A Practical Guide for Digital Investigations

Computer forensics services extend far beyond the traditional idea of simply extracting deleted files. It is a highly diversified and technically demanding discipline in which every investigation challenges the examiner’s expertise and judgment. A complete forensic investigation includes lawful evidence acquisition, forensic imaging, data parsing, timeline reconstruction, artifact correlation, and legally defensible reporting. With validated methods and the right skill set, investigators can recover data that criminals deliberately try to hide, encrypt, or destroy. Modern investigations now span computers, mobile devices, cloud environments, networks, and encrypted platforms, making full-spectrum computer forensics services more critical than ever. This guide provides a structured overview of the 18 core areas of computer forensics services and the real-world challenges they address.

Below are the 18 most essential areas of computer forensics services applied in real-world digital investigations today.

10 Disaster Information Security Tips From Digital Forensics Experts

No matter what kind of legal department you’re working in, you need to stay on top of the cyber threats that are out there. If hackers get in, sensitive information may be at stake, not to mention the good name and the reputation of your organization.

Sometimes, all it takes is one single careless click on a malicious link. In other cases, you may be dealing with malicious insiders who don’t have your best intentions at heart and may be trying to manipulate a case or tamper with vital digital evidence.

To keep your data safe, you’re going to need to tackle the matter of information security with a preventative mindset. With this in mind, we’ve prepared a list of 10 practical cyber security and disaster prevention tips you can apply today.

DFIR Phases: What Are the 6 Phases of a Cyber Security Incident Response Plan?

When a digital disaster strikes, you’d better have a plan. Otherwise, every single second you delay remedying the situation only contributes to the overall damage and your organization will suffer, thus racking up the costs and further eroding the trust of your clientele.

A cyber security incident response plan consists of 6 steps:

  1. Preparation
  2. Identification
  3. Containment
  4. Eradication
  5. Recovery
  6. Lessons learned

Although these are somewhat debatable and not always in the same order, for the most part, any DFIR cyber security expert will agree that the most optimal strategy more or less consists of the elements outlined above.

To implement them successfully, essential DFIR training is required. Once your IT and cyber security team gets the experience necessary, the fine details of it can be adjusted as per your individual needs.

Today, we’ll cover each of these steps in detail and outline the underlying philosophy that goes into their making.

DFIR Essentials: An Introduction to Cyber Security Incident Response

Digital forensics and incident response (or DFIR for short) is a mix of cyber security and computer forensics. Its objective is to investigate what happened during the incident and uncovering any digital evidence that might point out to the person (or group) responsible.However, merely uncovering the digital evidence in criminal investigations is not enough. After it’s collected, we have to preserve it properly. Then, the stage is set for its analysis.

DFIR security also focuses on how to bolster the organization’s infrastructure to prevent similar kinds of cyber attacks in the future – that’s the main difference between DFIR and a traditional digital forensics investigation.

If the DFIR cyber security intervention is successful, your organization can resume its operations shortly thereafter. After the digital forensic evidence has been processed and the leads all point in the same direction, the evidence collected can be used as a basis to prosecute those responsible to the fullest extent of the law.