[Full-disclosure] Careless Law Enforcement Computer Forensics Lacking InfoSec Expertise Causes Suicides

[Michael Holstein]

> As long as the possession itself is a crime, this is just a waste of
> resources.  I tend to agree that the current situation in most
> countries is difficult because of the elusive nature of purely
> electronic evidence.

Old problem, new kind of evidence .. if someone were to stash their dope 
in my bushes while running from the cops, and that's later discovered by 
my neighbor's kid .. guess who's going to end up down at the station 
looking stupid? .. ME.

Possession is 9/10 of the law. Once you've got dirt on your hands, it's 
your responsibility to prove it isn't yours. Unfortunately, in the 
digital world, that means you've got to be able to afford an expert to 
rebut the techie on the prosceution's payroll.

Curiously, here in Ohio, we have a law that says (in part) that the 
police must *prove* that any digital kiddie porn is a "real" kid, and 
not an image altered to look like one. Wrong or right, that little 
loophole has aquitted several defendents that have the means to hire an 
expert witness.

Michael Holstein CISSP GCIA
Cleveland State University