In cybersecurity, we often spend millions of dollars and countless hours studying the threat actor. We map infrastructure, dissect malware, and reverse-engineer code. But any experienced security consultant knows that looking at the exploit only tells part of the story.…
A spear phishing attack is a precision-guided digital strike, far more refined than the chaotic, wide-net approach of standard phishing. While common phishing is like trawling the entire ocean hoping for any catch, spear phishing is the cyber equivalent of…
When people think about threats to a company, they usually imagine hooded hackers sitting in dark rooms, furiously typing while green text scrolls across their screens. Hollywood has done an excellent job of selling that image. In reality, however, some…
When people hear the word “forensics,” they usually imagine crime scenes, fingerprint powder, or somebody in sunglasses dramatically removing their gloves before announcing the victim died “between 8:13 and 8:17 PM.” But not all investigations happen in dark alleys or…
In the business world, companies rebrand when sales are down, public image is damaged, or somebody in marketing decides the logo needs to look “more modern.” In the ransomware world, the process is surprisingly similar… except the company is committing…
If you spend enough time reading about cyberattacks, criminal investigations, espionage, or serial killers, you eventually notice something interesting: investigators from completely different fields often describe criminals in surprisingly similar ways. A cyber threat analyst might say, “The attacker reused…
Smurfing is one of those criminal techniques that sounds oddly adorable until you realize it’s basically financial hide-and-seek with regulators. No, it has nothing to do with tiny blue cartoon characters opening offshore bank accounts. In the world of financial…
When someone dies under unclear or controversial circumstances, investigators typically begin by searching for physical evidence. Fingerprints, blood patterns, toxicology reports, phone records, and surveillance footage are all part of the traditional investigative toolkit. However, in some cases the most…
Dumpster diving is a practice that consists of searching through discarded materials (usually in trash bins or dumpsters) in order to recover items or information that may still have value. Although the term is often associated with people looking for…
Geoprofiling means geographic profiling. It’s an investigative technique used in criminology and criminal profiling to estimate the most likely area where an offender lives, works, or frequently visits, based on the locations of their crimes. It’s mainly used in serial…
