At this point approaching the end of the year, messenger phishing, which involves approaching via messengers like KakaoTalk to request personal information or induce payments, is rampant. Messenger phishing is a type of voice phishing, and because it impersonates family or acquaintances, suspicion about the criminal nature is less, resulting in greater damage.
According to the Financial Supervisory Service, from January to September, the total number of messenger phishing cases was 6,799, with damages amounting to 29.7 billion KRW, showing a sharp increase of 14.6% and 25.3% respectively compared to the same period last year. Additionally, big data analysis of victims shows that messenger phishing tends to increase every fourth quarter, requiring special caution.
KakaoTalk is the most commonly used platform for messenger phishing, accounting for nearly 85.6% of the damage as of last September.
If one becomes unknowingly involved in messenger phishing due to personal information leakage, it is important to prove that there was no criminal intent related to the charges. If it is difficult to prove because KakaoTalk conversation contents related to the charges were deleted, it is crucial to analyze them through digital forensics rather than general data recovery.
Choi Gyu-jong, CEO of the digital forensic specialist company ‘KDFT Korea Digital Forensic Technology Standard Institute Co., Ltd.’ (hereafter KDFT), said, “When recovering KakaoTalk conversation contents related to messenger phishing, it is necessary to prove that the evidence data is intact without tampering to be recognized with legal effect. Therefore, evidence appraisal reports analyzed through digital forensics, not general data recovery, are important.”
In fact, evidence appraisal reports analyzed through general data recovery without adhering to the five principles of digital forensics (principle of integrity, principle of legitimacy, principle of promptness, principle of linked custody, principle of reproducibility) not only lack reliability but may also not be recognized with legal effect, so caution is required.
On the other hand, KDFT, which has pioneered the domestic digital forensic field since 2008 and cooperated with various government agencies and leading domestic companies for digital forensic investigation assistance, complies with the five principles of digital forensics and provides forensic analysis reports, opinions, and evidence appraisal reports that prove no tampering occurred, thus being recognized with legal effect.
CEO Choi Gyu-jong of KDFT, who is registered as a special appraiser at the Supreme Court, has appeared and cooperated in digital forensic advisory and coverage for major domestic broadcasters such as 'SBS I Want to Know That', 'MBC PD Notebook', and 'TV Chosun Investigative Report Seven'. He has also continued pro bono digital forensic talent donation activities, such as recovering the mobile phone data of victims to provide smoking-gun evidence for the Sewol ferry sinking investigation.
Moreover, the KDFT digital forensic team, composed of CEO Choi Gyu-jong and IT experts with over 30 years of experience, has continuously conducted R&D and filed related patents such as the ‘digital forensic device for portable electronic data recovery equipped with light sources and filters for alignment means’ and the ‘client-customizing based digital forensic service provision system’.
Based on this technological capability, KDFT assists in obtaining accurate evidence by conducting precise forensic analysis again upon request, even for cases where forensic results have already been issued, to prove the truth.
For example, in a recent case commissioned by the Daejeon High Court, KDFT’s forensic appraisal provided new clues to the forensic results of the National Forensic Service, suggesting another possibility for the case and overturning the results.
CEO Choi Gyu-jong of KDFT emphasized the countermeasures related to messenger phishing, saying, “As messenger phishing is rampant ahead of the year-end, inquiries related to proving damage are increasing. Even if KakaoTalk conversation contents have been deleted, there is sufficient possibility to analyze and use them as evidence through digital forensics. Therefore, the most important thing is prompt action to prove innocence.”
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