The criminal element always seems to enjoy being around one another. If you find an area that has one thief inside, and there are half a dozen other people hanging around, you can be relatively sure that you are going to find half a dozen other criminals. After all, most normal people with decent morals are not going to want to hang around with criminals. The only people that want to are going to be other people with less than honest intentions. Something that investigators are starting to find is that even in the digital world, criminals band together, and that is one of the ways that computer forensics experts are starting to be able to find and track more of these morally corrupt individuals.
The Criminals that Surf Together
We’re not talking about Patrick Swayze’s crew in Point Break here. Instead, this involves cybercriminals who surf the web and look for ways to steal and make some lazy money. Many forums devoted to hackers are out there, and many criminals are starting to visit and follow these outlets. They befriend other hackers and criminals and are brought into their odd “brotherhood” of thieves and professional criminals, at least according to a security company called Imperva. They actually came out with a rather disturbing report that delved into more of the issues, and hints that it could be only the tip of the proverbial iceberg.
The forums where hackers convene is a place where some of them may go to make contacts with others, to purchase or trade services, and to learn different techniques to make their crimes easier or faster. The security company analyzed 18 different forums where hackers meet, and they believe that it would behoove computer forensics specialists and law enforcement to start monitoring some of these sites to see the types of things that the criminals are discussing.
The criminals in the report discussed a host of different issues, including denial of service attacks, SQL injection, and making use of social networks such as Twitter and Facebook. One of the other things that the company discovered was there were quite a few sections on the forums where the topic of beginning hacking and hacking tutorials were covered. This means that the forums, while they might or might not be recruiting new hackers, they are certainly providing a fertile training ground for them, complete with “masters” of the digital crime world to help them.
What Could Law Enforcement Learn?
The police, federal government, and computer forensics specialists of all levels will find that they could learn much about hackers, their mindset and psychology, by visiting these forums. They could learn how to think like the criminals, know the fields where the hackers have the most interest, and learn to stop some crime before it occurs. People who investigate are going to have to walk a fine line and be careful about what they say as well as how they use the information that they discover. It is always important to consider the laws when engaging in any sort of investigation, as police and forensics specialists well know.
The Computer Forensics Field Needs Help
Computer forensics recruiters know that these types of criminals are expanding, and they know that more specialists are going to be needed in this field in order to handle all of the cases. Those who have an interest should speak with a recruiter about the training and classes needed to become a specialist in this field. It pays well, and you should not have trouble finding employment, either with a private company or with law enforcement.
Anita Schepers provides advice and information on computer forensics recruiter programs at Computer-Forensics-Recruiter.com.