A Defendant was accused of possession of child pornography in Norfolk, VA.  For some reason, the Defendant did not retain a computer forensics expert to assist in reviewing the digital evidence against the Defendant.  It is unclear whether the Defendant’s attorney sought to retain a computer forensics expert for his

This is the type of case that we typically see at AVM Technology, LLC.  An employee leaves his/her employer to start a competing company.  Usually in these situations, the employee may take other employees as well as confidential and/or proprietary information about the former employer’s services projects, and clients.  

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, v. PAUL J. MANAFORT, Defendant. Criminal Action No. 1:18-cr-83 This case involves Defendant Paul Manafort’s motion to suppress evidence recovered from a search of his residence on grounds that (i) the warrant did not clearly describe the evidence to be seized, (ii) the scope of the

RECENT VULNERABILITIES FOR WHICH EXPLOITS ARE AVAILABLE (COMPILED BY THE QUALYS VULNERABILITY RESEARCH TEAM) Cyber Security: This is a list of recent vulnerabilities for which exploits are available. System administrators can use this list to help in prioritization of their remediation activities. The Qualys Vulnerability Research Team compiles this information

MOST PREVALENT MALWARE FILES (COMPILED BY SOURCEFIRE) Cyber Security: This is a list of this month’s most prevalent malware files as seen “in the wild.”. The list provides the hash checkup values for each file as well as a link to the entry on virustotal.  To assist computer forensics analysts

AVM Technology recently appeared on NBC12 News in Richmond Virginia to discuss ransomware. Ransomware is a type of malware. Its purpose is to extort money from users. After getting infected, the system may become unresponsive and display a screen asking the user to pay a certain amount of money to

Recently AVM Technology had the opportunity to discuss computer security and privacy concerns associated with Apple’s digital assistant Siri. The video, as seen on NBC12 can be seen below:

2007 WL 4143074 Only the Westlaw citation is currently available. United States District Court, E.D. Virginia, Alexandria Division. FINMECCANICA S.P.A., et al., Plaintiffs, v. GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION, Defendant. Opinion MEMORANDUM OPINION JAMES C. CACHERIS, District Judge. *1 This matter is before the Court on Defendant General Motors Corporation’s (“Defendant”) Motion

The past few years have witnessed a dramatic change in the way discovery is conducted in Virginia.  Both the federal courts and the Supreme Court of Virginia have amended the discovery rules to accommodate the ever-growing use of Electronically Stored Information (ESI).  With the advent and expansion of cloud computing,

Due to our recognized expertise in computer forensics and cyber security, we were recently approached by NBC News on the topic of smart phone malware, specifically Android devices.  Android is the most widely used mobile operating software.  However, it is also vulnerable.  We tested some android apps containing malware.  The

For convenience purposes, modern pacemakers are programmed to receive commands wirelessly.  The commands are sent from medical staff through  a computer that is 30-50 feet from the pacemaker’s location.  Domingo Rivera of AVM Technology, LLC, appearing on NBC News 12 in Richmond, discussed a hacker’s ability to gain access to

At AVM Technology, we are familiar with civil and criminal cases involving computer crimes.  Sometimes, we assist enterprises in investigating incidents, sometimes we assist criminal defense attorneys representing clients accused of computer crimes.  However, many individuals accused of computer crimes in Virginia are indigent and unable to retain their own

At AVM Technology, we frequently investigate suspected computer crimes for private organizations.  As such, we have seen first-hand how computer crimes are on the rise and carry serious penalties.  On the Federal side, prosecutions under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, 18 USC 1030 are on the rise.  Also, Intellectual Property

Recently Domingo J. Rivera of AVM Technology appeared on NBC 12 to discuss a new algorithm to track computer malware.  The algorithm appears to be an adaptation of the method use to triangulate a caller’s location using cell phone towers. Triangulation works by figuring out the distance between a phone

Hackers are now spreading malware through Twitter. It makes perfect sense, many Twitter users are “click happy” and the platform is somewhat more “trustworthy” than links on emails that many now recognize as spam.  There are at least two variations of the tweets: one of them is formatted as @(your

There are a large number of Internet schemes and scams trying to get legitimate users to click on certain links. Many believe that the creators of these scams are after private information stored in your computer. While that may be true, the scenario can be more complicated. When the “payload”

Installing malware in your system is as easy as clicking in an untrusted link.  Hackers can use malware kits to create links that could give them control over your system.  In turn, they may use your computer for criminal activity.  One of these scams is a phishing scam. The person

Criminal Cases Alleging Child Pornography in Virginia – Computer Forensics Expert Criminal cases involving accusations of child pornography present unique challenges, not only for the defense attorneys, but also for the computer forensics expert. Access to the alleged child porn evidence by the Virginia computer forensics expert:  As a result

Computer forensics involves the recovery and analysis of digital evidence.  As such, a computer forensics expert frequently encounters cases involving the concealment or destruction of evidence.  We previously discussed issues related to the destruction of evidence and spoliation  and used as example the Virginia computer forensics case of Trigon v. U.S. An important aspect

A computer forensics expert can make a difference in civil or criminal cases.  Sometimes a computer forensics expert may be called upon to testify as to whether there is evidence that a party destroyed digital evidence.  For example, in a case involving computer forensics in Virginia, the court found that

A computer forensics expert plays an important role in cases involving computer crimes, in particular those cases involving possession of child pornography.  Both the government and the defense will probably rely on the testimony of the computer forensics expert in proving their case.  Computer forensics play an important part in

United States District Court, E.D. Virginia, Norfolk Division. CARGILL, INC., Plaintiff, v. C & P TOWING CO., INC., and Northeast Towing, Inc., in personam, and TUG RANDY D., her engines, boilers, etc., in rem, Defendants. Civ. A. No. 89-378-N. Aug. 16, 1990. Guilford D. Ware/y/JamesL. Chapman, IV, Crenshaw, Ware &

United States District Court, E.D. Virginia, Richmond Division. TRIGON INSURANCE COMPANY (Formerly Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Virginia), Plaintiff, v. UNITED STATES of America, Defendant. Civ. No. 3:00CV365. Nov. 9, 2001. This case highlights one of the issues that we encounter as computer forensics experts in Virginia.  Some individuals

United States District Court, E.D. Virginia. PHYSICIANS INTERACTIVE (a division of Allscripts, LLC) Plaintiff, v. LATHIAN SYSTEMS INC., Stephan Martinez and John Doe(s) 1-10, Defendants. No. CA 03-1193-A. Dec. 5, 2003. MEMORANDUM OPINION LEE, J. *1 THIS MATTER is before the Court on Plaintiff Physicians Interactive’s Motion for a Temporary

United States District Court, E.D. Virginia, Alexandria Division. GALAXY COMPUTER SERVICES, INC., Plaintiff, v. Lara BAKER, et al., Defendants. No. 1:04CV1036 (JCC). May 27, 2005. MEMORANDUM OPINION CACHERIS, District Judge. This matter comes before the Court on: (1) Defendant Sullivan’s Motion In Limine Regarding Evidence of Indemnification; (2) Defendants’ Joint