GRANT'S DESI ACHIEVER

HOW TO CATCH A CYBER CRIMINAL

Neil Desai, Vice-President, Corporate Affairs, Magnet Forensics.

By SHAGORIKA EASWAR

Mgnet Forensics develops software that’s become indispensable to policing. Today, digital investigation helps police recover evidence in nearly 90 per cent of cases worldwide.

With firm roots in law enforcement and government, Magnet’s digital investigation software also services corporations, including a number of the Fortune 100 (the top 20 per cent of Fortune 500 companies), in their fight against cyber crime. Organizations in technology, telecommunications, health care and financial services have adopted its software to investigate corporate fraud, IP theft, employee misconduct and external threats such as ransomware, business email compromise and malware attacks.

As Vice-President, Corporate Affairs at Magnet, Neil Desai leads strategic engagement with leaders from policing, national security and government agencies.

“I’m a small cog in a large wheel that is tackling a global challenge,” is how he puts it.

Desai brings to bear his expertise and background in the public sector to his role. With a master’s degree from the London School of Economics, he previously served with the government of Canada in senior roles at Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), that was since rolled into Global Affairs Canada, and at the Prime Minister’s Office.

Canada has invested in global health, maternal and child health, education and other areas and as chief of staff to the minister, he oversaw a number of functions. At the G8 and G20 summits in Toronto and Muskoka, he helped rally the international donor community including private donors like the Gates Foundation to double down on donations, making headway in Sub Saharan Africa, the Americas and many parts of the globe.

“That work has withstood political changes,” says Desai. “I am proud to have contributed to Canada’s role.”

Tracing his path from public service to Magnet, he says he is a consistent learner, someone who is able to apply his abilities to roles that are somewhat ambiguous.

“There is no formal training that leads to Global Affairs Canada or the PMO! At Magnet, I was attracted to being associated with mission-oriented people who are making a tangible difference. The common theme is the people who are working to improve their country, and the world.”

He recalls meeting the co-founders of Magnet, Jad Saliba and Adam Belsher. Saliba was working as a frontline police officer in Canada when he was diagnosed with cancer. After receiving treatment, Saliba was reassigned to a digital forensic unit and quickly learned that the tools police agencies had at their disposal were insufficient to investigate cyber-enabled crimes. He recognized the opportunity to do more for the pursuit of justice globally if he devoted himself to software development.

“I got to know the business, its mission and the people who want to do good,” says Desai.

Magnet Forensics has been recognized as one of the fastest growing companies in Canada by Canadian Business’s Growth 500 List in 2016, 2017 and 2019. With nearly 500 employees working in cities around the world, sales channels that flow through every major economic region from North America to Asia-Pacific, and over 4,000 customers in over 100 countries, its digital investigation software is playing a crucial role in modernizing digital investigations around the globe.

Desai’s role encompasses working with the executive team, the R&D team and the product management team, etc.

Their successes are many and varied. A department store chain with 100,000 employees used Magnet’s tech to identify a phishing campaign that led to a business email compromise that breached their systems.

In another case, a financial services company with 30,000 employees used their tech to remotely acquire explicit images that one employee sent to another. This helped prove the legitimacy of a harassment complaint.

Following the Boston bombing, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev claimed he didn’t plan the attack and that his brother had done everything. With Magnet’s technology, the FBI combed through thousands of gigabytes of data from Tsarnaev’s devices. They found digital copies of an article, How to build a bomb in the kitchen of your mom. This helped prove he planned the crime. Tsarnaev was convicted.

Using Magnet’s tech, police were able to find that Alexander Bissonnette, who killed six people in a Quebec mosque in 2017, was watching execution videos and a video on how to operate a Glock handgun less than two hours before he carried out the shooting with that weapon. This helped prove he planned the crime. He was convicted.

Magnet’s technology is also used in military intelligence globally in personnel and criminal investigations, and the analysis of cybersecurity incidents.

“Our founders come from a public safety mission background, that is core to what we are and what we do,” says Desai. “Our technology has helped not only apprehend the perpetrators but also exonerate the innocent.”

A woman was killed in front of her home in Wisconsin and her body was moved to an embankment. Her partner was initially arrested for the crime. With Magnet’s tech, police were able to clear him because on the night of the murder, his Fitbit showed he barely took any steps and therefore was too inactive to have been able to have carried out the murder. The technology also helped prove that GPS data suggested another man was near the victim’s home and the embankment during the hours her murder was suspected to have taken place. 

“If you get the input right, the output will come.” Neil Desai with then Prime Ministers of Canada and India, Stephen Harper and Manmohan Singh. Image credit: PMO.

Beyond the impact it makes through its software, Magnet Forensics supports local, national and international charities such as the Child Witness Centre, the Canadian Centre for Child Protection, and the Child Rescue Coalition. Through its own charitable initiative, The Auxtera Project, it aims to donate software and connect experienced digital investigator volunteers with organizations that seek justice on behalf of vulnerable populations.

Its technology helped Truth Labs, India’s first independent forensic science laboratory, deliver justice in child abuse and fraud cases in India in 300 criminal cases in the last three years.

In 2019, Kolkata Police outsourced a fraud investigation to Truth Labs. The suspects were accused of impersonating Microsoft tech support workers in calls to US citizens in a bid to steal personal information. Using Magnet technology to examine multiple devices belonging to the suspects, digital investigators recovered instruction documents outlining how to speak with victims, how to react in certain situations and how to remotely connect to victims’ computers to steal personal information. They also recovered spreadsheets filled with personal data, banking information and credit card numbers belonging to the victims.

In another recent case, Truth Labs used Magnet technology to investigate alleged child abuse for the Karnataka State Police. Magnet also donated its technology to the Kerala Police’s special unit fighting child sexual exploitation as part of its charitable efforts there.

“We’ve added a full-time employee in India and a number of police agencies and organizations are using our technology,” says Desai. “We expect the need will continue to grow with child exploitation cases on the rise worldwide. The government recognizes this and is investing in fighting it.”

In the Indian crime drama Jamtaara a bunch of kids from a small town in India form a sophisticated scamming network with local politicians in on the take. “Any unscrupulous person with basic computer literacy can commit cyber crime,” says Desai. “Investigators, on the other hand, require deep technical knowledge. Our work has to stand up to judicial scrutiny.”

And as scamming and cyber threats can originate from two kids sitting in the middle of nowhere, those fighting cyber crime have to be extremely nimble to stay ahead.

“Innovation is core to our being,” says Desai. “Social media, productivity tools, peer cyber crime, pshishing... we’ve to constantly upkeep the work we’ve done in all of these fields and more.”

His parents, who were educated in the US and Canada, moved to Canada in the 70s from Gujarat, India. They came for the education and multigeneratioal opportunities Canada offered them.

The family settled in the GTA, which was, at the time, significantly less multicultural.

“However, the interesting thing about Toronto – and Canada – through the 80s is that is was quite diverse,” notes Desai, who was born in Canada.

“But what I sometimes struggle with is whether it is a pluralistic society or is it multicultural for multiculturalism’s sake? Though there were some negative experiences, negative sentiments expressed, my experiences were largely positive. People want to learn about others’ cultures, find common ground on values.”

Desai is a Senior Fellow with the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto and a faculty member at Singularity University where he does tailored education for corporate executives. “I try to align them to what we do at Magnet, to broaden the understanding of how decision points made by corporations on a number of policies including encryption, for one, can put children at risk.

He serves on the Board of Directors of the YMCA Canada, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario and the Public Policy Forum, and when he is not writing for the Globe and Mail or being interviewed on CBC, follows sports and likes to stay active to stay fit.

Desai tells those wishing to chart a similar path to prioritize learning and service to others.

“Those are the two key themes to what I do, what I am. A focus on success can be limiting. Be a continuous learner. Formal education is important, but learning is lifelong. We have a saying at Magnet, ‘If you get the input right, the output will come’.  Broaden your horizon, meet new people, learn from them.”

Cyber crime and cyber-enabled crime are rapidly growing and evolving. Magnet Forensics continues to innovate so that its clients can deploy advanced and effective tools to protect their communities, countries and companies.

“There has never been a point in human history when valuables weren’t under attack,” says Desai. “Today data is extremely valuable. I have the opportunity to work with a team of remarkable individuals who are committed to keeping people safe. We hear on a regular basis from users about how our technology has been an integral tool in fighting crime, specially child exploitation cases.”

• Grant’s is proud to present this series about people who are making a difference in the community. Represented by PMA Canada (www.pmacanada.com).