Cosmic rays can cause unexpected crashes in routers, highlighting the influence of environmental factors on computer issues.
A ransomware attack on a police department revealed a major security flaw with city officials accessing the server from personal computers, leading to improved network design and security monitoring.
Deep dives
Computer problems and their causes
Computer problems often leave us wondering about the reason behind the issue. In a real-life example, a router suddenly crashed in an office, leading to a forensic analysis to determine the cause. After environmental data, memory snapshots, and manufacturer analysis, it was concluded that the crash occurred due to spurious emissions from space, highlighting the unexpected influence of cosmic rays.
Transition from programming to digital forensics
Nicol Beckwith, a former state police officer, switched careers from programming to digital forensics. Her interest grew when she encountered hacking and digital harassment cases during her time as a police officer. This led to an opportunity to work as a task force officer for the Secret Service, investigating cybercrime cases.
A puzzling ransomware incident at a police station
A police department experienced a ransomware attack that took down their computers, including patrol vehicles. Nicol Beckwith was called in to investigate the incident and discovered that the backups were not functional, resulting in lost data. Upon further investigation, it was found that someone had gained unauthorized access to the server, and the suspect turned out to be the mayor of the city, causing a significant surprise.
Uncovering the source of the attack
Nicol Beckwith traced the source of the attack to an IP address located in the same town as the police department. However, it was later revealed that the mayor and other city council members had been logging into the server from their personal computers, using their admin credentials to check their email. This revealed a major security flaw and resulted in changes to network design, access permissions, and external security monitoring.
Nicole Beckwith wears a lot of hats. She’s a programmer, incident responder, but also a cop and a task force officer with the Secret Service. In this episode she tells a story which involves all of these roles.
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Support for this show comes from Exabeam. Exabeam lets security teams see what traditional tools can’t, with automated threat detection and triage, complete visibility across the entire IT environment and advanced behavioral analytics that distinguishes real threats from perceived ones, so security teams stay ahead and businesses keep moving — without fear of the unknown. When the security odds are stacked against you, outsmart them from the start with Exabeam. Learn more at https://exabeam.com/DD.