By Ellen Lee
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
Think of it as “CSI” with a high-tech twist.
Bay Area investigators are increasingly deploying new technology to help solve crimes, using it to find critical evidence on suspects’ computers, cell phones and other gadgets and to solve the escalating number of high-tech crimes, such as identity theft.
“The underlying thread of all investigations involve computer forensics,” John Colbert, CEO of Guidance Software, told a group of corporate and criminal investigators in Alameda Thursday.
The Pasadena-based software maker develops tools for corporate and criminal investigators to make a copy of all the data stored on a computer, including information that has been deleted.
The Contra Costa Sheriff’s Department is using the software as it builds its case against 17-year-old Scott Dyleski, who has been charged in the death of Lafayette resident Pamela Vitale, wife of prominent defense attorney Daniel Horowitz.
Officers confiscated one desktop and two laptop computers from Dyleski’s home, and are using the software to capture data on the computer and then comb through it for potential clues such as e-mails and Web sites he may have visited, as well as deleted messages and other documents, Colbert said in an interview. The software allows detectives to search a computer without compromising it or accidentally wiping out information.
“Electronic evidence needs to be preserved the same way you’d preserve a hand gun or shell casing,” Colbert said.
The struggle, of course, is keeping pace with new technology, as computers store more and more information, new software is created and more consumers, criminals and victims alike, take advantage of gadgets like PDAs and cell phones to maintain their records.
But the potential payoff for investigators is huge. In the death of Laci Peterson and her unborn child, detectives searched husband Scott Peterson’s computer and found that he had used the Internet to research ocean currents at the location where Laci Peterson’s body was found. Detectives were able to pinpoint the date and time he went onto the Internet to conduct that research, evidence that was presented during the trial to convict Peterson.
In the April death of Jackie Cassettari, a 36-year-old woman found bludgeoned in her Livermore apartment, detectives found a record of Web sites that the suspect, Brian Rainwater, visited, offering a clue to his motive, said Sgt. Jim Conley.
The Livermore Police Department, like other law enforcement agencies, has been beefing up its high-tech crimes unit in response to the increase in high-tech-related crimes, from counterfeit checks to child pornography, and the need to have in-house expertise in computer forensics.
Likewise, the Walnut Creek Police Department created a high-tech detective position two years ago, followed by another one a few months ago, said Det. Bryan Vevera.
“It’s different than searching a house for narcotics,” said Vevera, who specializes in high-tech investigations. “You need to have the knowledge (to know what to look for).”
Contra Costa Times (http://www.contracostatimes.com/)