Just in case you thought Windows was secure...

[mdlbear]

It isn't (Seattle Times)

Microsoft has developed a small plug-in device that investigators can use to quickly extract forensic data from computers that may have been used in crimes.

The COFEE, which stands for Computer Online Forensic Evidence Extractor, is a USB "thumb drive" that was quietly distributed to a handful of law-enforcement agencies last June. Microsoft General Counsel Brad Smith described its use to the 350 law-enforcement experts attending a company conference Monday.

The device contains 150 commands that can dramatically cut the time it takes to gather digital evidence, which is becoming more important in real-world crime, as well as cybercrime. It can decrypt passwords and analyze a computer's Internet activity, as well as data stored in the computer.

It also eliminates the need to seize a computer itself, which typically involves disconnecting from a network, turning off the power and potentially losing data. Instead, the investigator can scan for evidence on site.

More than 2,000 officers in 15 countries, including Poland, the Philippines, Germany, New Zealand and the United States, are using the device, which Microsoft provides free.

Not surprisingly, there is discussion on slashdot and techdirt. Fortunately, an easy-to-install upgrade has just been released that fixes the problem.

Comments

[thnidu.livejournal.com]

Not Nuance. When (then called ScanSoft) they bought the Dragon Systems products, code, and data, the CEO bragged to us staff about how tightfisted they were. They took on the engineering and sales departments but didn't figure they needed researchers. I was Chief Linguist.

[mdlbear]

Pity. The world needs good open source speech recognition software; it may be years before we get it.