Essay Describing and Discussing the Processes and Challenges Involved in Identifying, Recovering, Securing, Examining, Analysing and Preparing Digital Evidence from a Crime Scene

The cloud has also given many issues to the field of digital forensics due to the fact that the cloud is part of many applications and software. Software that is hard to grasp physically since most servers that deploy use of the cloud are hidden in very deep corporate areas such as Microsoft, or is scattered across vast space of the internet (CNN Money, Goldman). The cloud has proven itself a valuable tool in the world of digital media but nonetheless has become a tedious and controversial topic in the world of digital forensics. Although there are advances towards the cloud becoming more useful in digital forensics regarding cybernetic crimes and incriminating evidence, the cloud has proven itself very difficult to be analyzed and processed according to the procedure that digital forensic analysts engage upon such as extracting evidence and using it for court

When faced with problems as a computer forensics investigator you must be very flexible. There are many different types of computer related crimes in today’s society. They may range from child pornography to identity theft to even insider trading on Wall Street. The possibilities for the criminals in our world to use computers and the Internet against us are endless. The computer forensics or cyber forensics fields are growing but are still learning every day because it is such a young field of study. New things emerge every day that computer forensic investigators must adapt to and begin to learn to help combat these criminals. Investigators will use many tools to help them find incriminating evidence. These investigators must learn these tools inside and out to make sure every test they run can be valid. The computer forensics field is growing rapidly and there are a lot of real world threats that we need these investigators to help us solve.

When was the file created, when was it accessed, was it sent and or received and by what accounts. These aspects are important because otherwise the case that the forensic scientist is working can’t be solved.

A computer forensic investigation typically includes the collection, examination, analysis, and reporting of data. These steps could have been used to extract and preserve the data in the U.S. versus AOL case. Collection involves seizing digital evidence. Examination is where techniques are applied in order to identify and extract data. Analysis is using the data and resources to prove a case (Brecht, 2015). Reporting involves presenting the documentation gathered during the investigation. Investigators use these steps to examine evidence that could be needed in a trial. Following these steps is one way to ensure that the findings are sound and admissible in court. “The purpose of a computer forensic examination is to recover data from computers seized as evidence in criminal investigations (Brecht, 2015)”. Forensic tools are used by investigators to provide their collection, indexing and detailed analysis

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.

The world used to be a place filled with questions and answers that could not be found. As the years have gone by, evidence at a crime scene has become progressively more understood and the world is now a place filled with questions that there are answers to. To get where detectives are today, it took years of experiments, building and knowledge of technology that expanded the mind to places that are hard to believe. Technology is the basis of what it takes to find the vastest amount of information that evidence can provide. It can hold, prove and find information that in past years, could not. Due to the advances in technology, specifically through DNA, fingerprinting and lighting systems, crime scene evidence collection has grown tremendously.

Although computer forensics is a relatively young field of crime investigation, it has become a useful area of knowledge. Organizations and companies are finding it necessary to recruit computer and network forensics investigators. These experts can detect and report various computer crimes. The reports of their findings can be used to provide useful evidence in court. This paper discusses various aspects of computer forensics. It is based on a scenario involving a computer, which is suspected to contain evidence on child pornography.

It is indisputable that the progression of forensics technology and knowledge has greatly improved the capability to catch criminals. Forensics of the past did not include the tools or knowledge that we now have. Forensics is not a perfect science nor has it ever been; however, we are closer to perfecting it than ever. Every criminal leaves behind some traces of evidence; it is up to the professionals to find and analyze it to solve cases. Looking at the timeline of forensic technology of the past to the present it is evident that it has evolved dramatically and will continue to do so.

Abstract- The contemporary Smartphone has built-in Instant Messaging (IM) applications like Whatsapp, Line, etc, which facilitates users to send and receive chat messages, video, audio and images via Smartphone in real time. Apart from benefits offered by Instant Messaging (IM), it also suffers from few vulnerabilities which provide ground for attackers to launch attacks such as Man-in-the-middle attack (MITM). These applications leave traces and Evidences in phone. In order to identify crimes, it is essentially required to retrieve these traces and evidences by using appropriate forensic technique. The works carried out in this field deals with forensic analysis of Whatsapp, viber, ChatOn etc but not with forensic analysis of Line messenger, even though number of users of Line messenger is more than 500 million. In this work, evidence subjected to Line messenger has been extracted from iPhone running ios 6. This paper presents evidence gathering of Line IM application which proves beneficial for forensic analysts and practitioners as it assists them in course of mapping and locating digital evidences of Line messenger on iPhone.

No matter how careful they are, people always leave traces of their activities when they interact with other people and with their surroundings. This is a basic principle of forensic science. It's known as Locard's exchange principle. It applies to the digital world and the physical world. If people attempt to steal electronic information or delete incriminating files, they leave electronic

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.

Computers have become a new weapon in committing crime, and to the burgeoning science of digital evidence, law enforcement now uses computers to fight crime. Digital evidence is information stored, transmitted, and received in binary form that can potentially be relied on as evidence in court. Notwithstanding, digital evidence is commonly associated with crimes that involve such devices, such as a computer hard drives, external storage devices, mobile phones, among others, and are often referred to as e-crimes. However, to fight e-crime, law enforcement must collect relevant digital evidence for such crimes, law enforcement agencies are incorporating the collection and analysis of digital evidence, also referred to as computer forensics, into many of their infrastructures.

Until recently, forensic scientists needed only to study physical evidence to determine what had taken place at a crime scene. This consisted of gathering fibers and samples of any bodily fluids left behind and also taking note of every aspect of the crimes scene to determine what had happened. In today’s age, that is all still necessary for most crime scenes; however, there is a new frontier for criminals to commit illegal acts. This new frontier is the internet. Cyber-crime has become increasingly prevalent in recent years. This rise of new technology is forcing the field of forensic science to adapt in order to investigate cyber-crimes as well. With the advent of personal computers, the science of forensics has been forced to evolve with the times and as a result the field of digital forensics has developed. While many of the same principles can be applied, special considerations in regards to how the 4th Amendment of the Constitution applies to the practice of digital forensics must be taken.

Throughout the length of this paper, I am going to be discussing the topic of computer forensics. Computer forensics involves carefully collecting and examining electronic evidence that not only evaluates the damage to a computer as a result of an electronic assault, but also to recuperate lost information from a system to prosecute a criminal in a court of law. Since security is such an important factor in technology, it is crucial for any type of computer professionals to understand the aspects of computer forensics.

This paper explores two of such techniques that are widely used. It examines in details the description of the method, how the technique is implemented, how the technique can be used to hinder the forensic process, and if there are ways the procedure can be reversed. The methods selected for this particular study are data hiding and artifact wiping. It is critical that the investigators identify any forms of counter-forensic techniques that are present in a system or a network.