NEWS & EVENTS > FORENSICON 2009 HALL OF FAME NEWSMAKERS

Forensicon's 2009 Hall of Fame

CHICAGO: January 4th, 2010 Forensicon looks back and recognizes significant stories in the news where computer forensics, computer data, and investigations using services offered by our company where deployed in a pursuit of the truth.


Forensicon's Top 10 - 2009 Includes:

  1. Heartland Payment Systems Inc. Data Breach
    Over 100 million credit/debit card accounts may have been compromised by intruders who inserted software code into HPS's computer systems that allowed for data theft. Credit card companies alerted HPS of suspicious activity, leading HPS to conduct a forensic investigation in which the security breach was found.
  2. Health Net of the Northeast, Inc. Data Breach
    A hard drive containing unencrypted personal, financial and medical information for over 1 million customers was lost.  Health Net of the Northeast, Inc. did not disclose the loss/breach for nearly six months thereafter.  The lost hard drive was reportedly an external portable hard drive and was not known to have been encrypted. The missing data likely includes patient medical records and personally identifiable data such as names, addresses, and/or Social Security Numbers of people from Arizona, Connecticut, New Jersey and New York. Although Connecticut state law requires the timely notification of such data breaches, and although the data loss happened sometime in May 2009, Health Net only reported it to Connecticut state officials in November 2009.
  3. University of East Anglia's Climate Research Unit Data Breach
    Approximately 160 MB of email files were apparently accessed by one or more hackers from servers at the University of East Anglia's Climate Research Unit. The contents of these emails were partially distributed across the internet using servers in Russia as well as other locations.  The hackers reportedly cited altruistic motivations for the hacking and distribution of the email data. Law enforcement and internal investigations are currently under way.
  4. White House Party Crashers - Email Reveals the Truth
    Attorneys for the Salahis reportedly released email messages between them and the White House staff. Review of the emails seems to support claims by White House staff that the Salahis did not receive an actual invite prior to showing up for the White House dinner.
  5. Blagojevich Legal Team Suffers Computer Theft
    A safe and between eight and ten computers were reportedly stolen from the law offices of Rod Blagojevich's attorneys. The attorneys report that they were certain that little to no sensitive material was present on those laptops because such sensitive information is kept within a server to which the laptops connect when needed. In addition to reportedly not storing such sensitive information within the laptops themselves, the Blagojevich attorneys also noted the use of password protection, encryption software, and physical security for the office itself.
  6. Social Media Vendor RockYou, Inc. Data Breach
    Social media vendor RockYou, Inc. reportedly had a data breach in which around 32 million registered members' username and password information was exposed to hackers. RockYou in the past has required users to register using webmail addresses, which means that the hackers may have access to millions of webmail accounts unless the passwords are changed. A purported hacker has published a portion of the stolen data that showed credentials stored in plaintext for webmail accounts and social media websites as well.
  7. Missing Bush Administration Emails are Recovered
    Approximately 22 million missing White House emails from the George W. Bush administration were discovered by computer experts working for the Obama administration. The current administration is continuing the search for missing Bush administration email data. Such work is commonplace in computer forensics investigations, and is one of many reasons to insist on a full and complete forensic imaging process whenever possible.
  8. Balloon Boy's Parents Hoax Proven by Forensic Examination
    In the days following the chase after the weather balloon believed to have carried a young boy, Sheriff Jim Alberdeen' s office seized the family computer and used computer forensics experts to search for evidence of the event having been staged.  A computer forensics firm allegedly found that the event was a hoax.  Approximately $2 Million of tax payer dollars were spent related to the search effort.
  9. DECAF takes the POW out of COFEE
    Microsoft COFEE (Computer Online Forensic Evidence Extractor), computer forensics tool trumpeted to replace the need for computer forensics examiners is beat by DECAF.  According to the site hosting DECAF, DECAF is a "Counter intelligence tool specifically created around the obstruction of the well known Microsoft product COFEE used by law enforcement around the world."  COFEE was discovered leaked to the world.
  10. Boston's Mayor Menino Aide Deletes Emails
    Computer forensics investigation recovers thousands of emails.  The City of Boston considers posting deleted emails online.

About Forensicon:

Specializing in trade secrets, employment litigation, and internal investigations, Forensicon is a computer forensics firm that provides expertise to the top law firms in the U.S. as well as corporations large and small. Forensicon offers nationwide computer forensics services for plaintiff, defense, as well as special master neutral third party representation. The firm has represented numerous Fortune 500 companies and other large privately held corporations wanting to defend against or prosecute claims of intellectual property theft. For more information, contact Forensicon at 888.427.5667, email us as contact@forensicon.com or visit our web site at: http://www.forensicon.com/