NCIC Cybersecurity & Digital Intelligence Flashcards

What is 'social network analysis' (SNA) used for in criminal intelligence?

Answer: Mapping relationships between individuals, organizations, or events to identify key actors in criminal networks

Social network analysis maps and measures relationships between entities to identify key influencers, connectors, and vulnerabilities within criminal networks.

What is 'chain of custody' as it applies to digital evidence in criminal investigations?

Answer: The documented chronological record tracking who handled digital evidence and what actions were taken with it

Chain of custody is a documented record of every person who handled digital evidence and every action taken with it, ensuring its integrity and legal admissibility.

What is 'phishing' in the context of cyber threats that criminal intelligence analysts must understand?

Answer: A social engineering attack using deceptive emails or messages to obtain sensitive information or install malware

Phishing is a social engineering attack where deceptive emails or messages trick recipients into revealing sensitive information or downloading malicious software.

What role does cryptocurrency play in criminal intelligence analysis?

Answer: It enables relatively anonymous financial transactions used in money laundering and illicit commerce

Cryptocurrency's decentralized nature facilitates relatively anonymous financial transactions, making it attractive for criminal money laundering and illicit marketplace activity.

What is the role of a 'hash value' in digital evidence verification?

Answer: To generate a unique digital fingerprint verifying that a file's content has not been altered

A hash value is a unique alphanumeric string generated from a file's contents that verifies its integrity — any alteration to the file produces a completely different hash value.

What does 'IP address geolocation' provide investigators in a digital investigation?

Answer: An approximate geographic location associated with an internet connection

IP address geolocation provides an approximate geographic location (typically city or regional level) associated with an internet connection, useful for narrowing investigative leads.