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Earlier this year, I reported that GM had added a DVR to its venerable Corvette. It seems that GM was a little shy about the details of their system in the initial marketing of the system. Now, RT.com is reporting that GM is warning owners of the car in several states that they might be committing a felony by activating the system. The problem: it also records audio. “Federal wiretapping laws

You've heard that the NYPD has blanketed areas of NYC with CCTV cameras. Ditto for Chicago and a few other metropolitan areas. These efforts have been funded and run by the local police agencies. But, in an interesting twist, ProjectNOLA has the public buying and installing their own CCTV systems, then turning over control to the New Orleans PD - and paying the NOPD for the privilege. "Part of a

The war of words has ramped up over Apple's / Google's plans to encrypt handsets. Law Enforcement spokespersons are taking to the media to voice their frustration over the decision. "FBI Director James B. Comey sharply criticized Apple and Google on Thursday for developing forms of smartphone encryption so secure that law enforcement officials cannot easily gain access to information stored on

Not to be outdone by Ocean Systems, long time vendor VisionBase (UK) recently announced the release of their Portable Recording of Evidence, Viewing and Investigation System (Previs). The best comparison of the two companies' products would be if Ocean Systems' Field Kit was based on their Hurricane Mobile Video Editing system. VisionBase loses me with this claim on the product's data sheet, "

Photoshop's new Experimental Feature Manager now has experimental (beta) features that you can enable and try out. As these features are in beta, you might want to refrain from using them for case work. For example, many folks are now using tablet PCs with touch screen support. To enable the experimental features, do the following: Select Preferences>Experimental Features. Select the

This just in from MedicalDaily.com, "You’ve grown up on a steady diet of TV and movies. Whether you’ve watched very little or excessively, you were born in a media saavy era so most likely you are wise in the ways that a videotape can be manipulated, and probably, too, you have some understanding of how any recorded scene affects you. Now, a new study points to possible gaps in our knowledge

This just in from Wired.com: "Silicon Valley’s smartphone snitching has come to an end. Apple and Google have promised that the latest versions of their mobile operating systems make it impossible for them to unlock encrypted phones, even when compelled to do so by the government. But if the Department of Justice can’t demand that its corporate friends unlock your phone, it may have another

The UK Government Forensic Science Regulator has released a new draft document for comment. The document, Digital forensics method validation: draft guidance, is a rather interesting read. Comments should be sent on the feedback form provided to FSRConsultation1@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk and should be submitted by 31 October 2014. It's more concerned with areas known in the US as computer forensics,

This just in from the Washington Post, "Apple said Wednesday night that it is making it impossible for the company to turn over data from most iPhones or iPads to police — even when they have a search warrant — taking a hard new line as tech companies attempt to blunt allegations that they have too readily participated in government efforts to collect user information. The move, announced with

There's a bit of a fight between the "digital forensics" crowd and the "forensic DME analysis" crowd as to what constitutes "digital evidence." We have the red Flip Book that states clearly that it does not concern itself with computer forensics. The Electronic Crime Scene Investigation: A Guide for First Responders states clearly, in Chapter 1, Section 5: Section 5 — Other Potential Sources of

Recently, the NIJ released it's Second Edition of Electronic Crime Scene Investigation: A Guide for First Responders. Here's some highlights: When dealing with digital evidence, general forensic and procedural principles should be applied: The process of collecting, securing, and transporting digital evidence should not change the evidence. Digital evidence should be examined only by those

This just in from MyFoxNY.com: "The Federal Bureau of Investigation has fully rolled out a new biometric identification system that includes facial recognition technology. The FBI, working with the Criminal Justice Information Services Division, says the Next Generation Identification System is now fully operational. The system is designed to expand biometric identification capabilities across

Amped Software updated FIVE today (Build 6514). Among the bug fixes are a few cool new things. You can now use the playback controls to go to the next IFrame, in addition to the previous controls. This Special Seek feature will help to scrub through the video to find the best frames with which to work. Also in this Build is support for Avigilon native files (.ave) as well as video file

This just in from the UK: Video analysis: codes of practice for forensic service providers. "This appendix covers forensic digital video analysis laboratory activity from receipt of video material through to preparation for court. It does not yet include retrieval from the scene (this is expected to be added in due course) nor expand on the requirements laid out in the codes on the presentation