NEW YORK, Dec. 16, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Over the course of several months, Kessler International purchased a variety of used USB devices in all shapes and sizes, including ones modeled after fictional characters Darth Vader, Yoda and Homer Simpson from various different sellers on eBay for nominal prices ranging from $1.00 to $7.00. At first glance, all 100 of the flash drives purchased appeared to contain no data. These USB drives were then subjected to a rigorous forensic analysis by Kessler's digital forensics engineers in order to carve deleted files and remnants of deleted data from the devices. Our digital forensics engineers obtained thousands upon thousands of files from many of those analyzed containing everything from videos of rowdy and intoxicated youngsters partying to the payroll, banking records and construction files of a masonry contracting company.
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One of the most disturbing drives contained numerous deleted and retrievable photographs and videos of a group of boys that appear severely under the influence of illegal drugs. There are bongs, liquor and various drug paraphernalia shown on the videos. One of the boys is seen smoking the bong and the others are lying on the floor, laughing, and discussing how dilated their eyes are. This particular drive was found to also contain over 30,000 images that Kessler was able to retrieve. A search of Facebook disclosed who these individuals were and where they live.
Additionally, many types of company and corporate information were retrieved from the drives. Included amongst the data retrieved from the masonry contracting company's USB drive were hundreds of Microsoft Excel documents containing financial and payroll records and payment applications for a construction project. Kessler was also able to retrieve a payroll stub with social security data from this USB drive. On one drive, Kessler obtained box and packaging designs for a video game and on another, schematics for a new tractor.
In the realm of more personal information, Kessler found on other USB drives examined pictures of costume parties, resumes and family pictures. One drive contained deleted music files and personal photographs of cheerleaders. Two separate additional drives were both found to contain various personal photographs of dinners, gatherings, selfies and school papers and assignments. Other drives contained entire movies such as Men in Black, movies of people dancing, resignation letters, various music files, course syllabi, corporate presentations and lesson plans. Also, as listed above, using the personal contact information available on the drives and comparing with the available photographs, Kessler was able to trace through to individuals current social media accounts including Facebook and LinkedIn accounts.
Deleted data on these drives was also found to include individual usernames and passwords for Chrome as well as auto-fill data from Chrome listing various usernames under an account for a variety of password protected sites.
Kessler recommends that instead of selling used USB drives for a nominal price that they be destroyed using a Gallagher's sledge-o-matic method to smash the drive to an unusable state. This would also help you with your frustrations of the day.
For over 25 years, Kessler International has been the world leader specializing in international corporate investigations, forensic accounting, brand protection and digital forensics. Established in 1988, Kessler International's satisfied clients are comprised of an extensive and distinguished list of Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, and prestigious law firms worldwide. Its diverse staff includes former prosecutors, former law enforcement agents, attorneys, certified forensic accountants, certified fraud examiners, certified forensic computer examiners, CPAs, certified internal controls auditors, licensed investigators and researchers.
For more information, contact Susan Peterson at (212) 286-9100 x32 or visit Kessler International's website at www.investigation.com.
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SOURCE Kessler International
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