An Overview Of Computer Forensics Investigation

By Peter Gray


Computer forensic science deals with substantiation found in computers and other digital storage media. One of the major objective of computer criminology is to scrutinize media in a forensic way in order to ascertain, preserve, recover, analyze and present specifics about the evidence. The facts recovered from a given investigation are used in high profiled cases hence giving solid information therefore, this method is becoming widely used especially for cases associated with digital media. This piece consequently gives deeper understanding of the computer forensics investigation in this article.

Today, technology has increasingly become extremely integrated especially into individual lives, so much so that they expect to always have a very constant access to their individual mails, and also keep in constant touch with their social circle even during the working hours. This therefore means that organizations may be very susceptible to things like cyber-crime and other online-related frauds. Oftentimes, the organizations are usually much unprepared in dealing with such circumstances efficiently.

Simply put, this is the use of scientific knowledge to actively look for information on materials, such as computers, seized from a crime scene, and to prove, using this data, that some form of crime has been committed. It may sound simple enough but the process necessary to ensure integrity of digital information retrieved in criminal investigations for such a purpose as a court case is intricate and equally rigorous. Basic principles that are standard internationally must be therefore be adhered to.

Before any form of digital evidence can be collected, all procedures and policies must be followed. The investigators must obtain authority to take data into their possession without breaching any laws themselves. Once authorization is obtained, preparation of systems for retrieval of information should be made with thought put into where the data will be transferred and documentation of this done.

One of the most common technique used is the recovery of deleted files. Modern scientific software have come up with tools that extract deleted files. Most operating system do not always expunge physical files thus making it easy for the investigators to reconstruct the data. This is the most common type of scientific evidence collected and it has also been helpful in solving cases over the years.

Therefore, in order to properly handle these cyber-related crimes, services of competent computer forensic experts become extremely important. These experts usually possess exemplary skills in handling these issues, since they have amassed great knowledge requisite in dealing with these cyber-related issues. The skills they have generally involve not only the preservation but also accurate identification of digital proof or evidence.

It is important to note that even if an operating system shuts down the electrical charge that is stored in the recollection cells take time to dispel therefore, the span of time the data is reconstruct able is increased by a method called the cold boot attack. However, some tools that are essential in extracting files that are volatile require that the operating system be in a lab.

Once all the necessary data or evidence has been obtained a detailed report of all procedures, policies methods and tools used in the entire process must be well documented. These reports are especially vital in court cases because they are a way for any one who wishes to challenge the evidence to see a clear sequence of events that helps confirm that the evidence is authentic and credible which could ultimately directly affect the outcome of a court case.




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