Phreaking refers to activities such as stalking, harassment or threatening behaviour using landline or, more likely, mobile phones.
The Metropolitan Police offer the following advice should you be subjected to any form of phreaking:
• Take a mobile telephone with you when you go out.
• Carry a personal attack alarm and learn how to use it – do not carry anything that is meant for use as a weapon.
• Try to alter your daily routines, ask friends to go with you whenever possible, and always try to let someone know what your plans are.
• Keep a record of what happened, where, when every time you were followed, phoned, received post or e-mail.
• The more details you have the better, how the offender looked or sounded, what they were wearing, the make, and number plate or colour of their car.
• Keep letters, and parcels as evidence: even if they contain frightening or upsetting messages, do not throw them away and handle them as little as possible.
• Keep copies of e-mails on disk and print out hard copies, do not delete the original.
• Making notes in a diary is a good idea. Write the information down as soon as possible, when events are still fresh in your mind.
• Record phone conversations if you can and keep a copy.
• Make sure you keep any stored messages (including text messages) or telephone numbers that you have received on your mobile phone and caller ID units.
• Tell your friends, neighbours and work colleagues about what is happening.
• Answer the phone by saying ‘hello’, not your name or number.
• Try to keep calm and not show emotion, many callers will give up if they don’t think they’re making an impression on you or your feelings.
• Use an answer machine to screen out calls and only talk to people you want to.
• If the caller rings again, put the handset down on a table for a few minutes – the caller will think you’re listening. After a few minutes replace the handset, you do not have to listen to what the caller has to say.
• Do not confront your stalker or even engage them in conversation.
• Do not, under any circumstances, agree to a meeting to talk about how you feel about them constantly bothering you.
• Do not respond in any way to calls. If you ignore the phone nine times and pick it up on the tenth, you will send the message that persistence pays. Once they have your attention, they will be encouraged to carry on.
If you find yourself subjected to phreaking then use the advice listed in this blog to help deal with the problem. Â Remember that the Police will help you if the stalking is persistant.
Disklabs – Trust us for the recovery of sensitive data from all electronic devices
Disklabs has a digital forensics laboratory and a team of expert witnesses at your disposal.
In addition to standard cell site analysis work to cross reference call logs with site masts data, our specialists are able to provide on-site network readings to, for instance, provide route and coverage profiles.
Our ability to define a clear process and provide comprehensive and comprehensible reports has won us many plaudits amongst the defence solicitor community. Our clients also focus on our commitment to offering all-in pricing wherever possible to avoid hidden extras as the trial process continues.
Find out how Disklabs’ cell site expertise can help by calling +44(0)1827 50000 today or use our contact form to let us know your requirements.
Disklabs – Sat Nav and GPS Forensics capability too
Disklabs have built up an awesome reputation for being the go-to technical gurus who can uncover evidence stored (or hidden) on a wide range of digital devices. While it is true that Disklabs has deep expertise in the forensic extraction, analysis and presentation of data held on electronic devices, that’s only half the story.
The company also provides a much wider investigatory service. One that combines high-tech with a methodical, no stone unturned approach that you would normally expect from law-enforcement agencies.
Simon Steggles, one of Disklabs Directors, explains:
“Our experience of supporting police forces in criminal prosecution cases means that we understand the need for rigorous processes and the highest standards of evidence gathering. We have been able to apply this model in other circumstances such as fraud cases, potential misuse of company data or HR disputes. “
The raw material of a Disklabs investigation may be data contained in emails, stored on servers or sent via mobile networks but there are real people involved; perpetrators, accomplices and victims. There are often a wide range of legal and, sometimes, political stakeholders too. The challenge for the company is to tie all of the elements together to understand who has committed an offence, how crimes have been committed, to recover money and to enable the justice system to do its work.
Disklabs have recently been involved in an international fraud case which has meant operating across multiple jurisdictions. Apart from the obvious logistical considerations it also means that the investigatory team has had to operate within a variety of legal rules and standards.
Simon highlights what this means in practice:
“The first task is to understand where any crime committed will subsequently be prosecuted. As you can imagine this has an immediate impact in terms of language and legal code. Some countries are more diligent than others in pursuing fraud and that will determine how much co-operation we will get.
We are also leveraging the FATF (Financial Action Task Force) money laundering standards in our investigation and reporting activities. This provides a co-operative structure for us to work with in-country law enforcement agencies and maximises the admissibility of the evidence we gather.â€
This case involved a wide range of elements. The fraud utilised technology in the form of emails and computer viruses but there are suspicions of insider dealing, IP theft and manual points of compromise too. That’s why Simon and his team have conducted so many face-to-face interviews and procedural reviews, in addition to using sophisticated tools to check out terabytes of data and study a range of hardware.
“We have the skills, experience and facilities to bring old and new approaches together,†says Simon. “Inspector Morse meets CSI perhaps?â€
To discover how Disklabs can support your investigation call +44(0)1827 50000 today or use our contact form.
Disklabs – Forensic analysis of CCTV and video material
Disklabs deploys XRY in our digital forensics laboratory as a key tool in the extraction and analysis of data from mobile phone, smart phones and other mobile-enabled devices.
The Disklabs mobile forensics team uses XRY to acquire evidential material such as;
• Call logs and browsing history
• Text messages and emails
• Contact lists
• GPS location
The tool is powerful enough for us to access deleted and password protected information too.
Disklabs uses XRY in a wide range of investigatory applications in both civil and criminal cases.  We are frequently involved in supporting defence solicitors in challenges of “points in question”, as well helping a variety of organisations in investigations that involve misuse of data or IP (intellectual property) theft.
We have a reputation for providing reports in an easy to use format which can be presented directly into court or a tribunal proceedings.  XRY supports that reputation by giving us a diverse range of data presented in logical formats that can be quickly and accurately analysed by the team.
To discover how Disklabs can support your investigation call +44(0)1827 50000 today or use our contact form to let us know your requirements.
Disklabs – Certified erasure of sensitive data
One of the most common forms of computer crime involves outside access of network resources by an entity that has no authority to do so, usually termed “hackingâ€. This form of computer crime can also include unauthorised internal access of corporate network resources.
Disklabs provides its client base with access to a team of highly skilled network forensics analysts, working tightly to ACPO (Association of Chief Police Officers) guidelines.  The team has access to a range of specialised network forensics technologies, which allow them to monitor, capture and analyse network data in real-time. Disklabs operates a  forensically clean analysis laboratory, which guarantees the integrity of forensics data, ensuring that our forensics results and findings are accurate and dependable.
Disklabs network forensics analysts are trained in both primary network forensics methodologies, both “catch it as you can” and “stop, look and listen” techniques.
The “Catch it as you can” method captures all network traffic which is passing through a particular point of the network.  This requires large amounts of digital data storage and is the slower approach.
The “stop, look and listen” technique involves interrogating each packet in memory and only saving relevant data.  It requires faster data processing capacity but less digital storage.
Before any network forensics can take place a quantity of network traffic will need to be captured. Specialist “packet sniffer” software  is used to collect raw network data.  This is used alongside any existing access logs to form the basis of the network forensics investigation.
Once this data has been collected a technique known as “sessioning†is performed using a protocol analysis tool. This allows the network forensics technician to identify all network activity between selected network start and end points. These types of tools will often contain some form of graphical representation of network activity within the session.
Once the raw network data has been processed using protocol analysis tools the technician is able to visibly interrogate network activity, allowing them to;
• Track down the source of the unauthorised access.
• Discern the scope of the activity performed during the period of access
• Determine the possible dangers of the unauthorised breach.
Disklabs network forensics services are used as both an investigatory and preemptive tool.  Our team can support both criminal and civil investigations or be used by corporations who need to determine areas of weakness.
To arrange a confidential discussion simply call +44(0)1827 50000 today or use our contact form.
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