Every day, law enforcement response teams (LERT) within corporations do their best to respond to the significant number of data requests they receive from law enforcement. But they are outnumbered by the volume of requests and the growing number of threat actors. It’s easier to steal confidential information through a fake law enforcement request than trying to hack a corporate network.
Hiring enough staff to address the volume of requests and scrutinize all law enforcement credentials to ensure their validity isn’t sustainable. Moreover, it would not solve the fundamental problem of companies working in isolation. They don’t have visibility into compromised credentials or fake Emergency Data Requests (EDRs) that have been used to target other companies; LERTs can only see what comes into their company’s dedicated email inbox or through their in-house CRM. And for every fraud they do detect, they do so within the confines of their company–the information they uncover is not shared with other businesses that may also be a target.
It’s like learning the plumber you hired is a total fraud who stole your copper pipes and even when you get rid of them, they will likely just go on to fool someone else–in fact, they probably already are. If you could warn others about this imposter (or be warned yourself, ahead of time), an entire community would be inoculated against their deception.
That’s why herd immunity is critical to enabling a sustainable process for identifying fake credentials, EDRs, and other attempts to steal sensitive user data by exploiting vulnerabilities in archaic LERT systems prone to human error. Having a community and platform for exchanging information about police and government officials who submit requests makes it easier for everyone to know who can be trusted at any given moment and act accordingly.
Joining the herd can help future-proof your LERT
When one door closes, another opens, particularly for bad actors who want to steal sensitive data. While corporate networks continue to harden their defenses against intrusion, law enforcement networks are an easy and highly appealing attack vector. Many companies still employ a simple inbound email address accessible to anyone to handle data requests from law enforcement - hardly the most secure channel. Even large companies, who may have an in-house verification solution, are still working in a very dark silo, with limited contextual information about the investigator, agency, and legal justification for the request. This information vacuum is fertile ground for social engineering attacks, including AI-generated fraudulent warrants and identities. In short, the work for LERTs will get harder and more complex as attackers enhance and accelerate their ability to steal data by compromising law enforcement domains.
You can get an in-depth look at this rapidly evolving landscape, the types of threat actors operating within it, and read about actual case studies of bad actors penetrating corporations in our white paper. Meanwhile, if you’re interested in joining other leading companies who want to protect their users and organizations - and in the process, protect other community members - contact us to learn about signing up for the Kodex platform.
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