Cyber Forensics

How Cyber Forensics Has Added A New Dimension To Crime Detection

Cyber forensics is the most recent development in a science which has evolved greatly over the last century, and which has been responsible for the arrest and conviction of many a criminal. When you mention forensics to people, they immediately think of the traditional techniques where crime scene material is analyzed for evidence which has been left by the human body. This can be fingerprints, saliva, blood, or even DNA. Similar techniques are also used to analyze the earth for footprints or tire tracks. Now, though, there is a very different type of forensics.

With the rising popularity of digital devices in our society, has come the opportunity to store and process far more data. Communications have also been made far easier. These developments are of great benefit to legitimate business, but they can also be used by criminals in nefarious ways. Many of these criminals do not fully understand how the operating systems used in these devices work. They delete files and empty the Recycle Bin, just as countless other uses do, thinking that that is all they need to do.

When a computer Recycle Bin is emptied, all evidence of the existence of the file disappears. This is because the indicators which point to the file are removed. The actual data, however, stays in the computer hard drive memory until it is overwritten by fresh data. If the computer does not have a lot of extra files added to it, the erased data can still be in the memory years later. A forensic expert, with the right software, can easily access the data in any part of the hard drive.

A similar system exists in the data banks of other electronic devices, and these can reveal even more damning and useful information. Many people store the names and numbers of all of their associates in their cell phone memory, and this includes criminals as well. Further information of occasional contacts can be gleaned from SMS messages, call lists and missed call lists. Entire gangs of criminals can be rounded up in this way, all starting from the careless use of electronic devices by one member of the gang.

The hardest part of cyber forensics is not actually the retrieval of data, as anything which is in the system can be retrieved easily with the right software. The hardest part is proving in court that the data was obtained in the way that it was. It is obviously possible to plant data into a computerized system, so you need to be able to prove that this did not happen. Of course, if the data is not actual evidence, but merely something which can be used to give the police other leads, this will not be a problem. Using data as information to give the police a fresh line of inquiry is a very common use of cyber forensics.

 

 

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