Forensic Accounting
Brand Protection
Computer Forensics
Corporate Investigation

Volume 9 - No. 1                    Download PDF

In this edition of
The Kessler Report:

Computer Forensics: Sherlock Holmes in the Information Age

What's Infecting
Your Computer?

Stop Harassing Email

The Trojan
Horse Defense

Automatic Thieving Machines: ATM Frauds Exposed

Q&A: Do It Yourself Investigation

Kessler's Corner:
The Growing Field of Computer Forensics

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The Trojan Horse Defense:
Coming Soon to a Courtroom Near You

You might have heard of the famous "Twinkie Defense," referring to the 1979 case in which former San Francisco city supervisor Dan White was found not guilty of first-degree murder charges, due in part (according to much of the media) to his diminished mental capacity thanks to severe depression, and a diet of cola and Twinkies.  While the media blew the actual relevance of Twinkies to the defense out of proportion (White's psychiatrist only suggested that his diet was a sign of his deepening depression), the public outrage over his relatively light sentence for the murders of Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk led to the coining of the Twinkie Defense term.  Now it often refers to a defense in which the accused attempts to lay the blame for a crime they clearly committed on something else, such as mental instability, instructions from a higher power, or a high-tech saboteur.

One new version of this type of defense places the blame for computer crime on Trojan horses--executable files that seem innocuous, but contain malicious code.  Recently, in the United Kingdom, three separate court cases were decided on the basis that someone else put code on the defendants' computers via a Trojan horse, causing their machines to break the law without their knowledge.  Two of these cases involved the presence of child pornography on the defendants' computers, and both were acquitted when investigators found evidence of Trojans that would apparently take the user to kiddie porn websites.  A third case involved a teen that was accused of launching a denial-of-service attack on a U.S. server location, but he too blamed a Trojan horse, saying it allowed a hacker to control his computer remotely.  Investigators were not able to find evidence of a Trojan, but the teen claimed it had erased itself.  After experts reviewed this possibility, he too, was acquitted.

Whether these cases were well-handled is up for debate.  One could argue that the defendants were lying and investigators were simply not up to the task.  Or perhaps all three defenses were indeed legitimate, and justice prevailed.  Either way, it is likely that this type of defense will become more common, particularly in child pornography cases.  Therefore, it is important for law enforcement, lawyers, investigators and the general public to gain a better understanding as to what Trojans, viruses, and other electronic attacks can do and how they can ultimately determine someone's guilt or innocence.

The computer forensics wizards at Kessler International are among the most knowledgeable in the world, and can provide you with accurate evidence and exceptional litigation support.  Our experts have years of technical and investigation experience behind them, so you can rest assured… from Twinkies to Trojan horses, Kessler's got it covered.

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