Due to the complex nature of the case and the length of time cyber investigations can take, building a defense can be extremely difficult. As a result, it is important that you consult with an experienced DC cybercrime attorney who knows what to look for and can help guide you through the legal process. Read on to learn more about what goes into building a defense for DC federal cybercrime cases, as well as the ways a professional lawyer could offer you their assistance today.
Initial Investigations
It is important to get a third-party professional involved early on to look at the digital information in a case because the investigation into this data can be very complex. It is also important to do a more typical investigation including understanding who the people involved are, what interactions they have with each other, figuring out if there is someone who is cooperating with the government, and what incentives they have to cooperate with the government. A skilled defense attorney can prove to be a valuable asset in carrying this out.
Keys To Building a Cybercrime Defense
One key area in building a defense for DC federal cybercrime cases is to determine how the government is attempting to link a defendant to a particular activity and to see if that link is really viable. This task can be technologically complicated to prove and may not be easy for the prosecution to accomplish. It is not like a robbery case where an eyewitness may be able to testify that they saw someone commit the robbery and can identify them in a lineup. This is going to be done online. The question then becomes, how does the prosecution prove that the individual accused is actually who was undertaking the illegal activity?
The Importance of Cyber Professionals
A computer forensic professional can be vital to a cybercrime case depending on its circumstances. For example, if a data breach of a corporate database occurred, the prosecution would be trying to determine the loss amount. In that situation, an individual would want to consult a defense and maybe employ an economist to figure what the loss might be. That estimate of the loss amount may be different than what the government asserts because they used different methods of calculation.
Constitutional Issues
Fourth Amendment search and seizure issues come up quite often. For example, the determination of what constitutes a reasonable, articulable suspicion or probable cause necessary to attain a search warrant for a computer and what portions of a computer can be searched are all Fourth Amendment issues. In addition, the Fourth Amendment has a reasonable expectation of privacy that applies to smartphones. As they have become more prevalent, the Supreme Court has weighed in on when is it proper to search a smartphone. As revelations have been made about the NSA spying on cellphone and e-mail communications, issues of encryption have also come up. These are not necessarily constitutional, but they are very important when building a defense for DC federal cybercrime cases.
If you have been charged with a federal cybercrime offense, consider reaching out to an attorney experienced in building a defense for DC federal cybercrime cases today to schedule your initial consultation.
