Computer Law Commons^™

Principles Of The Law Of Software Contracts: Some Highlights, Robert A. Hillman, Maureen O'Rourke

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

The final draft of the Principles of the Law of Software Contracts ("Principles") was unanimously approved by the American Law Institute membership in May of 2009. The goal of the project is to “clarify and unify the law of software transactions.” However, the Principles will not become law in any jurisdiction unless and until a court adopts them, so only time will tell whether the project will accomplish this goal. Nevertheless, one thing is certain. The current law of software transactions, a mish-mash of common law, Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code, and federal intellectual property law, among other …

Computer Forensics For Graduate Accountants: A Motivational Curriculum Design Approach, Grover S. Kearns

Annual ADFSL Conference on Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Computer forensics involves the investigation of digital sources to acquire evidence that can be used in a court of law. It can also be used to identify and respond to threats to hosts and systems. Accountants use computer forensics to investigate computer crime or misuse, theft of trade secrets, theft of or destruction of intellectual property, and fraud. Education of accountants to use forensic tools is a goal of the AICPA (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants). Accounting students, however, may not view information technology as vital to their career paths and need motivation to acquire forensic knowledge and skills. …

The Defiance College Undergraduate Major In Digital Forensic Science: Setting The Bar Higher, Gregg H. Gunsch

Annual ADFSL Conference on Digital Forensics, Security and Law

This paper provides background information to accompany the panel discussion on Curriculum Design and Implementation in Computer Forensics Education. It is specifically focused on the content and delivery of Defiance College’s undergraduate (B.S.) program majoring in Digital Forensic Science (DFS). The genesis and evolution of the Defiance College DFS program are described, along with its successes, challenges and known opportunities for improvement. The desired outcomes of the panel discussion include articulating the necessary components of an undergraduate program, refining expectations of knowledge and skills required of students upon graduation, and suggesting strategies for achieving those expectations despite inevitable resource limitations …

Digital Records Forensics: A New Science And Academic Program For Forensic Readiness, Luciana Duranti, Barbara Endicott-Popovsky

Annual ADFSL Conference on Digital Forensics, Security and Law

This paper introduces the Digital Records Forensics project, a research endeavour located at the University of British Columbia in Canada and aimed at the development of a new science resulting from the integration of digital forensics with diplomatics, archival science, information science and the law of evidence, and of an interdisciplinary graduate degree program, called Digital Records Forensics Studies, directed to professionals working for law enforcement agencies, legal firms, courts, and all kind of institutions and business that require their services. The program anticipates the need for organizations to become “forensically ready,” defined by John Tan as “maximizing the ability …

A Layered Framework Approach To Mitigate Crimeware, Mathew Nyamagwa

Annual ADFSL Conference on Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Crimeware attacks are growing at such an alarming rate and are becoming so prevalent that the FBI now rank cybercrime among its top priorities after terrorism and espionage. New studies estimate cyber crimes cost firms an astounding $1 trillion annually. But the good news? Over 80% of them are preventable. Crimeware is not a purely technical threat but more or a socio-technical affair. This clearly brings out the fact that computers do not commit a crime, but we (humans) do! In this paper I propose a layered approach that involves all stakeholders from end-users to service-providers and law enforcement to …

Canvass - A Steganalysis Forensic Tool For Jpeg Images, Jennifer L. Davidson, Jaikishan Jalan

Annual ADFSL Conference on Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Steganography is a way to communicate a message such that no one except the sender and recipient suspects the existence of the message. This type of covert communication lends itself to a variety of different purposes such as spy-to-spy communication, exchange of pornographic material hidden in innocuous image files, and other illicit acts. Computer forensic personnel have an interest in testing for possible steganographic files, but often do not have access to the technical and financial resources required to perform steganalysis in an effective manner. This paper describes the results of a funded effort by a grant from the National …

Measuring Whitespace Patterns As An Indication Of Plagiarism, Ilana Shay, Nikolaus Baer, Robert Zeidman

Annual ADFSL Conference on Digital Forensics, Security and Law

There are several different methods of comparing source code from different programs to find copying1 . Perhaps the most common method is comparing source code statements, comments, strings, identifiers, and instruction sequences. However, there are anecdotes about the use of whitespace patterns in code. These virtually invisible patterns of spaces and tabs have been used in litigation to imply copying, but no formal study has been performed that shows that these patterns can actually identify copied code. This paper presents a detailed study of whitespace patterns and the uniqueness of these patterns in different programs.

Keywords: Copyright Infringement, Intellectual Property, …

Electronic Discovery: A Fool’S Errand Where Angels Fear To Tread?, Milton Luoma, Vicki Luoma

Annual ADFSL Conference on Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Electronic discovery has transformed the discovery phase of civil litigation in recent years. The expectations of lawyers and parties were initially established in the Rowe and Zubulake cases that led to a complete revision of the electronic discovery rules contained in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Subsequent cases have underscored the importance of document search methodologies and implications for attorneys, IT professionals, and digital forensics professionals. The authors review how electronic discovery has evolved thus far and offer recommendations regarding the electronic discovery process.

Keywords: Electronic discovery, e-discovery, keyword search, concept search,

Social Networking: A Boon To Criminals, Tejashree D. Datar, Richard Mislan

Annual ADFSL Conference on Digital Forensics, Security and Law

With the world getting more and more digitized, social networking has also found a place in the cyber world. These social networking sites (SNSs) which enable people to socialize, and build and maintain relationships are attracting attention of all kinds of people such as teens, adults, sports persons, and even businesses. But these SNSs are also getting unwanted attention from people like sexual predators, spammers, and people involved in criminal and illegal activities. This paper talks about SNSs and how these sites are exploited for criminal or illegal activity. The SNSs are discussed in detail with respect to user profiles, …

Hard Disk Storage: Firmware Manipulation And Forensic Impact And Current Best Practice, Gareth Davies, Iain Sutherland

Annual ADFSL Conference on Digital Forensics, Security and Law

The most common form of storage media utilized in both commercial and domestic systems is the hard disk drive, consequently these devices feature heavily in digital investigations. Hard disk drives are a collection of complex components. These components include hardware and firmware elements that are essential for the effective operation of the drive. There are now a number of devices available, intended for data recovery, which can be used to manipulate the firmware components contained within the drive. It has been previously shown that it is possible to alter firmware for malicious purposes, either to conceal information or to prevent …

Organizational Handling Of Digital Evidence, Sheona A. Hoolachan, William B. Glisson

Annual ADFSL Conference on Digital Forensics, Security and Law

There are a number of factors that impact a digital forensics investigation. These factors include: the digital media in question, implemented processes and methodologies, the legal aspects, and the individuals involved in the investigation. This paper presents the initial idea that Digital Forensic Practice (DFP) recommendations can potentially improve how organizations handle digital evidence. The recommendations are derived from an in-depth survey conducted with practitioners in both commercial organizations and law enforcement along with supporting literature. The recommendations presented in this paper can be used to assess an organization’s existing digital forensics practices and a guide to Digital Forensics Improvement …

A Framework To Integrate The Data Of Interview Investigation And Digital Evidence, Fahad Alshathry

Annual ADFSL Conference on Digital Forensics, Security and Law

The physical interview process in crime investigation produces an extremely large amount of data, particularly in big cases. In comparison, examiners of digital evidence have enormous amounts of data to search through whilst looking for data relating to the investigation. However, the links between their results are limited. Whilst investigators need to refute or support their hypothesis throughout, digital evidence examiners often use search based keywords. These keywords are usually created from evidence taken from the physical investigation reports and this basic method has been found to have many shortcomings and limitations. This paper proposes a highly automatic framework to …

Developing Voip Honeypots: A Preliminary Investigation Into Malfeasant Activity, Craig Valli

Annual ADFSL Conference on Digital Forensics, Security and Law

30 years ago PABX systems were compromised by hackers wanting to make long distance calls at some other entities expense. This activity faded as telephony became cheaper and PABX systems had countermeasures installed to overcome attacks. Now the world has moved onto the provision of telephony via broadband enabled Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) with this service now being provided as a replacement for conventional fixed wire telephony by major telecommunication providers worldwide. Due to increasing bandwidth it is possible for systems to support multiple voice connections simultaneously. The networked nature of the Internet allows for attackers of these VoIP …

Higate (High Grade Anti‐Tamper Equipment) Prototype And Application To E‐Discovery, Yui Sakurai, Yuki Ashino, Tetsutaro Uehara, Hiroshi Yoshiura, Ryoichi Sasaki

Annual ADFSL Conference on Digital Forensics, Security and Law

These days, most data is digitized and processed in various ways by computers. In the past, computer owners were free to process data as desired and to observe the inputted data as well as the interim results. However, the unrestricted processing of data and accessing of interim results even by computer users is associated with an increasing number of adverse events. These adverse events often occur when sensitive data such as personal or confidential business information must be handled by two or more parties, such as in the case of e-Discovery, used in legal proceedings, or epidemiologic studies. To solve …

Developing A Baccalaureate Digital Forensics Major, John H. Riley

Annual ADFSL Conference on Digital Forensics, Security and Law

As colleges and universities consider instituting a bachelor’s degree in digital forensics or computer forensics, there are numerous questions to be addressed. While some of these normally occur in the development of any new major, there are aspects of digital forensics which do not often (if ever) occur in other majors. We discuss the issues that should be resolved in the development of a baccalaureate degree program in digital forensics.

Keywords: Digital forensics major. Computer forensics major.

Phishing: Legal And Regulatory Challenges, Wan Emril Nizam Wan Embong

Student Works (2010-2019)

Phishing scheme is a new emerging security issue of computer crime or e-commerce crime in globalization. In this paper, the legal framework of Malaysia, United States of America, United Kingdom and Singapore are analyzed and followed by discussion on critical issues that rose due to phishing activities, inter alia, the threat and magnitude of problem, techniques and variants of phishing. The paper also emphasized on the factor why phishing succeed due to human factor and technical subterfuge. The result revealed that inadequacy of current legal framework is the main challenge to govern this epidemic. However, lack of awareness among consumers, …

Elawyering And The Future Of Legal Work, Richard Granat, Blair Janis, Stephanie Kimbro, Marc Lauritsen

Continuing Legal Education (CLE) Lecture Series

eLawyering is doing legal work – not just marketing it – over the Web. Pioneering practitioners have found dramatic new ways to communicate and collaborate with clients and other lawyers, produce documents, settle disputes, interact with courts, and manage legal knowledge. There are exciting initiatives underway now that deserve attention by all lawyers – present and future. The legal profession is being disrupted from without and from within. To be successful in the coming era, lawyers will need to know how to practice over the Web, manage client relationships in cyberspace, and offer “unbundled” services. This program discusses the knowledge …

Vol. Xxi, Tab 58 - Declaration Of Jennifer L. Spaziano In Support Of Rosetta Stone's Response To Google's Objections To Evidence And Motion To Strike, Jennifer Spaziano

Rosetta Stone v. Google (Joint Appendix)

Exhibits from the un-sealed joint appendix for Rosetta Stone Ltd., v. Google Inc., No. 10-2007, on appeal to the 4th Circuit. Issue presented: Under the Lanham Act, does the use of trademarked terms in keyword advertising result in infringement when there is evidence of actual confusion?

Vol. Xx, Tab 57 - Declaration Of Jennifer L. Spaziano In Support Of Rosetta Stone's Motion For Sanctions, Jennifer Spaziano

Rosetta Stone v. Google (Joint Appendix)

Exhibits from the un-sealed joint appendix for Rosetta Stone Ltd., v. Google Inc., No. 10-2007, on appeal to the 4th Circuit. Issue presented: Under the Lanham Act, does the use of trademarked terms in keyword advertising result in infringement when there is evidence of actual confusion?

Vol. Xvi, Tab 53 - Declaration Of Henry Lien In Support Of Google's Reply Memorandum (Counsel For Google), Henry Lien

Rosetta Stone v. Google (Joint Appendix)

Exhibits from the un-sealed joint appendix for Rosetta Stone Ltd., v. Google Inc., No. 10-2007, on appeal to the 4th Circuit. Issue presented: Under the Lanham Act, does the use of trademarked terms in keyword advertising result in infringement when there is evidence of actual confusion?