Year on year, technology has only grown and advanced, seeing an increase in online crimes. As technology has changed, so has the way crime has been committed - and the way in which it is investigated. Following our interview with Simon Nash, one of our Forensic IT Expert Witnesses, we’re exploring how crime and investigations have evolved over recent years.

The Celebgate Phishing Scandal

Traditionally, crime such as theft was committed in person - perhaps by a burglar entering a person’s home, or a victim being mugged on the streets. In today’s society, crime can be committed without even leaving the home, enabling skilled hackers to send phishing emails and gain access to a victim’s accounts.

This shift in how crime is committed has also seen an increase in sexual material offences, like the Celebgate scandal of 2014. This crime involved a man named Ryan Collins, and his accomplices, working out celebrities such as Rihanna and Jennifer Lawrence’s Apple iCloud log-in details. Phishing emails were also sent to their Gmail accounts, enabling hackers to gain access to all of their private images and ultimately leading to the release of over 400 naked pictures of more than 100 celebrities on websites including 4chan and Reddit.

Mobile Phone Crime and Cell Site Analysis

It wasn’t too long ago that landlines were the preferred method of contact, with many people receiving spam calls. In some cases, these calls consisted of a perpetrator who wanted to gain access to private information, such as bank accounts, and used phishing techniques to access personal details. Now, with the popularity of smartphones, this kind of crime has dramatically risen, but instead of a person carrying out the crime, a machine using a false phone number is used.

However, as more and more people invest in smartphones, it’s also easier to confirm or challenge alibis. Cell site analysis has become a regular component in criminal investigations and can be used to confirm the location of a suspect. When a mobile phone is used to make a call, send a text or search the internet, it sends signals to a mobile phone mast and creates a call data record (CDR). Each mobile phone mast has several antennae with a unique cell ID, enabling a Cell Site Analysis Expert Witness to identify a person’s location at the time of the call.

Experts in Technology Expert Witnesses

At Foresight, we have a panel of over 750 expert witnesses - including Forensic Accountants, Forensic IT Analysts and Cell Site Analysts - all who have a wealth of experience in investigating these complex crimes. As an industry-leading provider, we’ll help you save time and work smarter by sourcing the most suitably qualified and highly experienced expert to support your case - and we can even source more than one expert witness should your case require it.

To learn more about our services and how we can help your case, please click here.