Module 2

Infragard

A U.S. association consisting of regional chapters of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and affiliations of public, private, and academic organizations that cooperate to exchange information on the protection of critical national information resources.

Computer Security Act (CSA)

A U.S. law designed to improve security of federal information systems. It charged the National Bureau of Standards, now NIST, with the development of standards, guidelines, and associated methods and techniques for computer systems, among other responsibilities.

Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) of 1986

A collection of statutes that regulate the interception of wire, electronic, and oral communications. These statutes are frequently referred to as the "federal wiretapping acts."

Digital Malfeasance

A crime against or using digital media, computer technology, or related components; in other words, a computer is the source of a crime or the object of a crime.

Privacy Act of 1974

A federal law that regulates the government's collection, storage, use, and dissemination of individual personal information contained in records maintained by the federal government.

Restitution

A legal requirement to make compensation or payment resulting from a loss or injury.

Evidentiary Material (EM)

Also known as "items of potential evidentiary value," any information that could potentially support the organization's legal or policy-based case against a suspect.

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996

Also known as the Kennedy-Kassebaum Act, this law attempts to protect the confidentiality and security of health care data by establishing and enforcing standards and by standardizing electronic data interchange.

Liability

An entity's legal obligation or responsibility.

Digital Forensics

Investigations involving the preservation, identification, extraction, documentation, and interpretation of computer media for evidentiary and root cause analysis. Like traditional forensics, digital forensics follows clear, well-defined methodologies but still tends to be as much art as science.

Due Care

Measures that an organization takes to ensure every employee knows what is acceptable and what is not.

Search Warrant

Permission to search for evidentiary material at a specified location and/or to seize items to return to the investigator's lab for examination. An affidavit becomes a search warrant when signed by an approving authority.

Due Diligence

Reasonable steps taken by people or organizations to meet the obligations imposed by laws or regulations.

Affidavit

Sworn testimony that certain facts are in the possession of the investigating officer and that they warrant the examination of specific items located at a specific place.

Long-Arm Jurisdiction

The ability of a legal entity to exercise its influence beyond its normal boundaries by asserting a connection between an out-of-jurisdiction entity and a local legal case.

Deterrence

The act of attempting to prevent an unwanted action by threatening punishment or retaliation on the instigator if the act takes place.

Ethics

The branch of philosophy that considers nature, criteria, sources, logic, and the validity of moral judgment.

Forensics

The coherent application of methodical investigatory techniques to collect, preserve, and present evidence of crimes in a court or court-like setting. Forensics allows investigators to determine what happened by examining the results of an event—criminal, natural, intentional, or accidental.

Computer Fraud and Abuse (CFA) Act

The cornerstone of many computerrelated federal laws and enforcement efforts, the <term> formally criminalizes "accessing a computer without authorization or exceeding authorized access" for systems containing information of national interest as determined by the U.S. government.

E-Discovery

The identification and preservation of evidentiary material related to a specific legal action.

Jurisdiction

The power to make legal decisions and judgments, typically an area within which an entity such as a court or law enforcement agency is empowered to make legal decisions.