A recent case conducted by Athena Forensics involved mobile phone evidence and allegations that, following an examination and report by the Police, the Defendant had deliberately downloaded indecent images of children to his Samsung mobile phone.
The Defendant denied these allegations and Athena Forensics were instructed to carry out a review of the Prosecution evidence.
Identification of Evidence of the Pornhub Ransomware
The review revealed the presence of a zip file on the phone that had been partially downloaded and contained various files and folders within it including 2 identical static images that comprised of images of children.
The zip file also contained various ‘pornhub’ images and an ‘FBI’ logo. The entire content of this file had been downloaded as part of one action.
The zip file also contained an ‘FBI’ warning page stating that suspicious files had been identified on the phone and that it had been locked.
It also contained a page requesting that the user enter credit/debit card details in order to pay the fine.
Investigation Conclusion – Pornhub Ransomware
It was concluded that the unlawful images formed part of a ransomware malicious application, such malware normally threatens the user in some way in order to coax them into making a payment to resolve the issue.
This zip file was also scanned using a suitable antivirus application and found to consist of the the Android.Trojan.Sisnit.BY malicious application.
Evidence to Support that the Malware had Originated from Pornhub
It was also noted that the user had frequently accessed the pornhub website including during October 2017 when many visitors had experienced and been exposed to the Kotver virus that had been placed onto the PornHub website in October 2017 and widely reported in the press ( including https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4966662/PornHub-users-targeted-advertising-malware-attack.html).
Following the completion of the report, the charges were dropped on the morning of the crown court trial.
About Athena Forensics
For information on our digital forensic services or if you require any advice or assistance please contact a member of our team on 0330 123 4448 or via email on enquiries@athenaforensics.co.uk, further details are available on our contact us page.
Our client’s confidentiality is of the utmost importance. All correspondence is treated with discretion, from initial contact to the conclusion of any computer forensics investigation.
Our digital forensics experts are fully aware of the significance and importance of the information that they encounter and we have been accredited to ISO 9001 for 10 years.
Our forensic experts are all security cleared and we offer non-disclosure agreements if required. Our premises along with our security procedures have been inspected and approved by law enforcement agencies.
Athena Forensics do not disclose personal information to other companies or suppliers.
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