Case Study 2: U.S. Versus Aol. In The U.S. Versus Aol Case,

At the start of the investigation first responders gave investigator a raw image of the implicated workstation’s memory and hard-drive contents in an EnCase format. These files were copied into evidence files using the Forensic Tool Kit (FTK) application. Appendix A, figure 1 and 2, shows the results of the results of MD5 and SHA1 hashes performed on the two files named ‘jane_ram_ss26’ and ‘jane_hd’. This information validates the

Electronic evidence is very fragile because it can be destroyed or altered very easily, therefore it is imperative that investigators follow very careful all the procedural steps when collecting electronic evidence (Diversified Forensics). Before any electronic evidence is gathered investigators should determine whether there is probable cause that a crime has been committed, or if the crime was committed somewhere else the investigator should determine whether the electronic evidence will aid the investigation process to prove or disapprove the crime, if a warrant is needed it must be obtained prior to collecting the evidence (Diversified Forensics). Hard drives, computers, and other electronic devices must be turned off, unplug all cables,

For this reason, it is imperative that the information gathered is reliable and accurate to ensure the evidence collected can be utilized by the digital forensic investigator for the current case (Ingalls & Rodriguez, 2011). Additionally, cyber incidents require digital forensic investigators to interview various individuals regarding the information needed for the case. According to the National Institute of Justice (2004), interviewing the system administrator, users, and employees of an organization regarding a cyber incident would provide investigators with valuable information; for example, user accounts, email accounts, network configuration, logs, and passwords. Furthermore, for digital forensic investigators to conduct an effective interview, they must have the proper tools and training to employ the interview process. For instance, formal procedures or instructions should be developed and implemented to ensure that the investigator follows a standard during all investigations. Additionally, training should be provided to ensure that digital forensic investigators comprehend by what means to prepare, conduct, and evaluate an interview. Furthermore, resources should be made available for digital forensic investigators to accomplish their tasks; for example, recording devices and references. Also, definitions should be provided to the digital forensic investigators for

Digital crime has been on the increase due to the increasing use of computer and internet. This has led the investigators with another method of fighting this crime. This is Computer Forensics, a process of going into computer hard drive and capturing basic information the user believed it has been erased.

Hacking has evolved from juvenile’s curious action into serious criminal act. The low cost of computers and ease of accessing internet has allowed proliferation of criminals to use these tools to research and attack their targets. The main goal is criminal exploit and to exploit learn hacking techniques to accomplish goal. The use of electronic devices and internet leave behind digital marks and fortunately criminal first hackers have a difficult time erasing their trail allowing for the savvy digital forensics investigator to collect evidence and locate the criminal.

From data acquisition, the investigator should move to the process of extracting data. He or she should use special computer forensics software tools to extract important data from various computer devices and networks. The process of extracting data requires the investigator to be knowledgeable about where to search data in the system and the kind of questions to ask (Rogers, 2003). After extracting data, the investigator proceeds to the process of data analysis. By this time, the investigator will probably be having thousands of files. He or she should use computer forensic tools and techniques to analyze the files in order to generate data which is more relevant and concise (Rogers, 2003). The last step of the process of computer forensics involves reporting the analyzed data. The investigators should ensure that the data, which is supposed to be reported, is complete, understandable, and defendable. This will ensure that the final data presented is credible (Rogers, 2003).

Moving onto the weaknesses, the following test will examine the acquisition of information, discovery of information, education, procedure and significance of the evidence. One of the main concerns in this field is still acquiring the information in a way that does not jeopardize the integrity of the information despite having the appropriate tools. This is because digital forensic scientists created the tools for security and other computer related purposes and not for forensic purposes (Casey, 2004, p.29). This poses specific issues when the investigators are trying to collect information in a manner that is acceptable by law, and while it is true that it is possible to create tools specifically for forensic purposes

The OS provides digital forensic investigators with the primary application where the files, folders, and logs of every event that has occurred involving the suspect’s information system can be located. Furthermore, this information can be utilized by the investigator’s to understand how incidents like network intrusion, malware installation, and insider file deletions have occurred. As a result, OS’s is the location where relevant information on incidents or unlawful activities can be discovered with the proper collection and examination

National institute of technology (NIST) provides a forensic timeline with different stages to conduct proper investigation. There first portion is collection stage, in their investigator able to gather evidence and information’s about the case. This include interviewing witness, when doing a computer forensic investigation it's not possible to place suspect just only behind the keyboard, as additional investigator must do a deep scanning about the evidence such a confession or perhaps video surveillance evidence, and it’s important to talk with suspects whether there were admit to the crime or at least admin owning the machine and they are the only that uses the evidence

1. What accounting approach has AOL used in the past that it is now changing (related to the $385 million)?

In this essay I will be talking about the key guidelines when it comes to investigating computer related crimes, such as what kind of the sections and sub-sections the offence falls under when regarding the ‘law’. I will also analyse the principle that will apply when dealing with the collection data using the digital forensic unit to analyse the data, more so how this is used to make accurate judgment on why the data was in this location and what its purpose or intended use was. Furthermore I will address what kind the authority the ACPO are granted, and further dissect the responsibilities the chief commissioner has. Lastly I will be addressing one the biggest computer related crimes which Cyber Crime and how ACPO created a method for dealing with such crimes, such as dividing the crime into two different categories of Cyber Crime, and how they differ from one another.

In a world where technology is increasingly becoming the way of life, it was only a matter of time before crime was no longer just in the streets but happening online as well. Criminals now get a new approach to carry out their crimes with the use of computers. Since technology is more like a murder mystery than catching the bad guy in the act, a new discipline of forensics needed to be put into place. This is known as computer forensics. Forensic science is any science used for the purpose of law. In the case of computer forensics it is “the discipline that combines elements of law and computer science to collect and analyze data from computer systems, networks, wireless communications, and storage devices in a way that is admissible as evidence in a court of law” (U.S. Cert, 2008). Meaning if you do something illegal on the Internet it can be found.

A computer forensics expert can recover information and computer evidence even if it has been hidden, encrypted, or deleted. In computer forensics, time is of the essence and an investigation must be performed in a timely manner to prevent information from disappearing forever. An important aspect of a computer forensic investigation is that the computer forensics expert must be capable of performing the analysis in a manner that will preserve, identify, extract, document and interpret computer data. The computer forensics analysis must be performed in a manner that conforms with legal requirements so that the results of the forensics investigation will be admissible in court. Simply powering up a computer can result in many files being changed. This may affect the admissibility and reliability of digital evidence. The analysis of electronic evidence includes not only the analysis of documents currently in a computer and those that were previously deleted, but also past versions and alterations of electronically stored documents.

Chapter 2 America Online, Inc. Teaching Note Introduction The America Online (AOL) case is a comprehensive financial-statement analysis case. It enables students to do strategic analysis, accounting analysis, financial analysis a: and prospective analysis in a rich context. It can he used either as the first case in a course. on financial; statement analysis to set up the course framework or towards the end of the course as a comprehensive case. If it is used at the beginning, the instructor should be prepared for a discussion that raises more questions than answers. However, it can he an excellent way to motivate the students to learn the course tools. If the case is used at the end, the instructor should challenge the students to do an

It is important that a financial crime investigator obtains all information generated by the computer by analyzing the caches left in the hard disks. Data recovery from the RAM and any other external drives makes data collected effective and applicable in a court