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A recent telephone call caused me to seriously question how our competitors deal with ethics in investigations. A client asked for a quote on a case and said that “everything has to be above board.” This led me to respond with a serious disclaimer that everything we do is above board. I went on the explain that we at MI:33 take pride in knowing that Federal judges all over the United States trust our testimony. This means that every single thing that we do or report can be demonstrated plainly and honestly to a judge and jury.

Throughout the years, when assigning work, we have had clients tell us “don't tell me how you got it”, or “I don't want to know”. Despite these attorneys' attempts to turn a blind eye to the law, we never, ever acquire our information in a way that cannot be demonstrated honestly in Federal Court. In one aspect, it is a compliment for the Intellectual Property industry to think that our results are so magical that they must have been obtained unethically. But on the other hand, knowing that so many peers must cut corners, it is paramount that we differentiate ourselves from the rest.

I am not sure if this is more of an indictment of the morals of the average client, or the ethics of other investigators. But, in the age of OSINT specialists and hackers, it is of extreme importance that ethics in investigations is pronounced and accented when cases are being filed. A competitor may provide some shady results, but can they explain their steps to a jury in a way that make them feel comfortable that you did your job fairly and ethically?

Trust is everything. Judges are juries are everything. That means ethics in investigations is also everything. Hire an agency that makes this their number one priority.

Here we are.

The two most important things when conducting undercover contact is obtaining sensitive data and, yes, not blowing your cover. If a subject were to examine the source code (header) of an email I sent them, it may reveal my IP address. If I were to access a subject's website, my IP address will be revealed. Without a subpoena, anyone can use your IP address to determine the name of your Internet Service Provider and the general region of the terminal that connected to the web during your contact. This is why it is important to use a service that specializes in masking IP addresses. I use a pay service that is completely legal, inexpensive, fast and convenient. The service I use allows me to choose IP addresses from all over the world at the drop of a dime.

If the subject is offering fashion goods, I am sure not to use an IP address from NY, CA, UK, France or Italy because the legal departments for many of these brands are located in these regions. If I am investigating a software counterfeiter I will steer clear from IP address located in CA, WA or MA. A paranoid counterfeiter will block customers from those regions, or at least notice that they are being monitored. So My first advice in masking IP addresses is to choose an IP address that is not in a state/country your client's industry or headquarters is based. Then you must discipline yourself to never check these emails from your phone or an unfamiliar computer terminal. No matter how curious you are, the email can wait until you are at your PC with the ability to mask the same, consistent IP address region you have previously used. Just as we are watching for bad guys to make mistakes, they are waiting for us to do the same.

Now I'm going to finish my coffee.

Ethics in Investigations, OSINT, and the Law

Masking IP Addresses: Why It’s Important