Hacker Framing: Welcome to the Neighborhood

Hacking is a topic that nearly everyone is aware of, but few truly grasp the risks and dangers associated with it. In fact, by 2023, there are expected to be over three times more networked devices on Earth than there are humans who populate it; meaning there is three times the number of devices whose data needs protecting. Unfortunately, the more devices one has, the more opportunities criminals have to steal your information. Let’s look at a hypothetical hacking case, where John Doe’s neighbor turned out to be a neighbor from hell. 

John Doe and his young family had just purchased their first home and moved in next door to Joe Smith. At first, the neighbors were friendly and got along fine until Joe acted inappropriately with their toddler, which resulted in a call to authorities. This upset Joe Smith because he did not feel as though contacting the authorities was necessary. However, he dealt with the consequences and things seem to go back to normal, at least for a little while. 

Although the situation was over and dealt with, Joe Smith still held resentment towards John Doe and his wife for pressing charges against him, so he started formulating a plan for revenge. Since Joe Smith was tech-savvy and had access to the dark web, he was able to execute his revenge plans against John and his family while hiding behind the scenes. Once Joe was able to access their Wi-Fi network, he was able to use that network to harass the family and frame them for various heinous crimes such as email threats, sexual harassment, and even child pornography. 

At first, Mr. Doe and his wife thought it was just strange coincidences or technology glitches since they were not tech-savvy and knew that they were not the ones conducting these activities. Soon, John Doe’s work confronted him about inappropriate messages coming from his account and noted their no-tolerance policy, and later he was also confronted by law enforcement. Not knowing what his employer or the police were talking about, John contacted his lawyer to clear his name and return to the career he had built over 15 years. Knowing that time was of the essence, his lawyer hired a digital forensic company to look over the family’s devices for suspicious activity. 

After doing a thorough investigation of the client’s devices, the digital forensic company was able to take all the evidence found and deliver it to the attorney for court purposes. It was determined that John Doe was hacked using a popular hacking kit found on the dark web, making it possible for fabricated evidence to be planted on his device and frame him for the various crimes. The digital forensic company was also able to determine the actual location of the device used to execute these crimes, allowing authorities to detain the true mind behind these acts, Joe Smith. 

Without digital forensics, John Doe could be serving time for a crime that he did not commit, his family broken up, and his career ended. Now, the true perpetrator will serve time and there is one less criminal on the streets. Thanks to digital forensics, the world is a slightly safer place.