Traces of Guilt: computer crime from the front line

[InfoSec News <isn () c4i org>]

http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/55/35720.html

[ http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0593051866/c4iorg  - WK]


By John Leyden
Posted: 20/02/2004 

Book review - It's rare to read a book about computer security that
captures the spills and thrills of hunting cyber-criminals.

Neil Barrett's Traces of Guilt conveys the intellectual excitement of
the chase and sheds light on the real extent of computer crime and the
use of computer evidence in a wide varietyof cases.

An ex-hacker in his youth, Barrett these days advises the police as
well as working as a security consultant for major companies. He
testifies regularly as an expert witness in criminal prosecutions,
mostly appearing for the prosecution.

Barrett's book takes the reader into the world of the computer
forensics and guides us through some of the high profile cases he's
worked on - from Gary Glitter's conviction as a child porn-user
through sundry cases of hacking to a brace of murder trials where
computer evidence was key to the conviction or acquittal of suspects.  
The book outlines the evolution of computer forensics techniques:  
Barrett is particularly good at explaining how computer evidence has
become an important aspect in investigating 'ordinary crimes'.

At times, Traces of Guilt reads like the script for an episode of CSI;  
and we get to understand the specifics of crimes committed and clues
left by suspects, which he recovered.

PC procedural

The book contains 14 chapters, 12 of which deal with cases and
investigations in which Barrett was involved. For example, one chapter
explains how a murderer's water-tight alibi was broken through an
investigation into the internal clock of a computer dispensing
receipts at a chemist, which was an hour slow.

Not all of the cases Barrett writes about lead to criminal
prosecutions. He was, for instance, involved in the discovery of a
secondhand computer discarded from a high street bank contained the
banking details of Sir Paul McCartney, including his account number,
sort code and balance.

The role that computers play in crime - and in particular the
detection and prosecution of crime - are central to the book.

Barrett is interested in relating the specifics of the investigations
he has been involved in and from this we get a series of true-life
detective stories. Connoisseurs of police procedural novels will enjoy
Barrett's work.

Fear of a black hat

The book is written to be understood by the layman but network
administrators will find much of value on within its covers, not least
when Barrett discusses the step-by-step approach that crackers
commonly take to break into systems. The book also devotes one chapter
to social engineering.

Barrett is almost as good on the motives of hackers. Hacking, in his
book, is seldom a random act and often geared towards a specific
criminal objective.

The author reports in detail incidents where computer crime suspects
used encryption to hide their tracks, and the battle of wits which
ensued between hackers and computer experts. From the book we learn
that the National Hi-Tech Crime Unit has access to GCHQ code breaking
resources in cases involving national security or attacks on national
infrastructure organisations, such as utilities.

No future

Computers do not destroy data when a user deletes it, therefore
leaving evidence for investigators to locate.

Windows XP provides disk level encryption - which Barrett foresees
will cause problems in the forensic examination of computers. He also
discusses the difficulties in tracing criminals created by the
introduction of wireless networking.

Barrett makes these points in a very short final chapter of just four
pages. If the book has a fault it is a lack of an overview which ties
together all the cases together and looks to the future. This is,
perhaps, something for Barrett's next book.

Minor quibble aside, Traces of Guilt is a well-written study which
lifts the lid on computer forensics, while avoiding sensationalism.  
The book benefits from Barrett's obvious enthusiasm for his work and
down-to-earth perspective. His humour shines through. Anyone who is
interested in computer forensics will enjoy the book.

Strongly recommended.

Traces of Guilt, by Neil Barrett Bantam Press Hardcover - 251 pages
Feb 2004 - £16.99



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