Social networks - a criminal's best friend or her enemy?
Introduction
Various aspects, which have to do with social networks like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and MySpace, have been discussed in different security articles this year. This time we shall examine another: social networks' usefulness in investigations of criminal activity.
Cases
A few real-world examples may be useful as a background for our discussion.
"I’m Innocent. Just Check My Status on Facebook"
Charges against a man that was a suspect in robbery, was dropped (at least partly) because he had posted a Facebook message at the time when the robbery took place.
The person's "Facebook alibi" was strengthened as Facebook verified that the message was written from the computer, which the suspect claimed he had used.
>> More details in The New York Times
"...guilty of reckless homicide but not murder"
A person's information about himself on MySpace was admitted in the trial case and used as a character description by the prosecution. The man unsuccessfully attempted to argue that this evidence should not be admitted.
>> More details in Electronic Discovery Law
"I'm a single mother ... oops, NOT"
A woman had received social security compensation as a single mother. However, her Facebook profile revealed that she was a cohabitant, and thereby not entitled to such compensation.
She confessed giving irregular information to the authorities.
>> More details in Aftenposten (Note: Norwegian text)
You leave traces
It is well known for even the most ignorant, that what is written in social media is available for at least some other than the author himself. Depending on the preferences in a person's social media profile, the information might be available for everyone in the whole world with access to the Internet.
Lately there has been some focus on the fact that such information is difficult to get rid of even if the writer wants to - it is stored in cyberspace "forever". This fact may of course be quite severe if the information is incriminating to the author himself or his acquaintances. Either now or at some time in the future.
The cases described above show that information that you leave about yourself may incriminate you - or clear you, if used in special contexts. This is a fact that is not revolutionary. What is new in recent years, and increasingly important, is that information from different sources may be classified, put together, and organized to reveal more about you and your activities.
Others may leave YOUR traces
As we have discussed in other articles, there is always a possibility that the one who seems to be you, are not.
There are two completely opposing variants involved here:
Someone has illegitimate access to your profile in a social network
There are several ways that others may get your credentials to log into a social network with your credentials - as you. How this is accomplished is not the topic for this article, suffice it to say that different phishing schemes may be used.
The point is that with such credentials, information about you, which seems to come from you, may be posted in your "secure" area. And as we pointed out above: once information is posted on the Internet, it is extremely difficult to remove completely.
You have given someone access to your profile in a social network
Why would you do that?
The obvious reason is to provide you with an alibi. If "you" updated your information on a social network, it is possible for the authorities in cooperation with Internet Service Providers and the social network's owner, to find out from where the access occurred. Then you cannot be at a completely different place at the same time. Or...
Caveats
In the continuous fight against crime, police forces will increasingly use resources and information available on the Internet. Such authorities - and you as an individual - must be aware of the possibilities that exist in manipulating electronic information. Even though information is available on the Internet, it does not mean that the information represents the truth!
And as we have mentioned above: when you publish information in social networks and elsewhere on the Internet, remember that this information may be there forever, and can be used against you in circumstances that you did not consider when the information was posted.
Finally - information gathering and systemizing has become an industry. The players here do not always have your own best interests in their mind.