The Digital era of computers, devices, and mobile applications has proved to be a blessing for fraud and unethical practices, as it has moved to new dimensions and grown exponentially. The same digital era can also be utilized for fraud detection with the help of digital forensic tools. Digital forensic can help organizations to identify, recover, examine, and present the data or documents in the court of law which is obtained from digital devices.
Following are the key steps of digital forensics
- Identification: What set of digital data that require to be retrieved, where it is stored, how it is stored, what operating system is used
- Preservation: After identifying the potential data, it is isolated, and copied safely, while the original copy is preserved to maintain the value or integrity of the digital evidence.
- Indexing: Converting the data in readable form for further analysis and log of data gathered is maintained in the form of a chain of custody.
- Analysis: The examination and review of the data are performed on the copied file with help of sophisticated forensic or analytical tools.
- Reporting in the court of law: Review report and digital evidence are made to be presented in the court of law in which the interpretation of the analysis is summarised and presented in a legally acceptable manner.
The tools utilized for analyzing the pieces of evidence need to comply with certain standards for it to be accepted by the court of law. There are many tools available for specific requirements of the investigation such as Encase or FTK Imager that can duplicate the device without harming the evidence. Oxygen and Cellebrite UFED that is targeted for their utilization in mobile forensics, etc.
Every country has its own rules and regulations regarding the collection and admissibility of the evidence in a court of law. The motive is to maintain the authenticity and integrity of the data gathered and presented. It should be consistent throughout its life and preserve its hash value.
“There is enough in this world for every man’s need, but there isn’t enough for every man’s greed” – Mahatma Gandhi
This content is meant for information only and should not be considered as an advice or legal opinion, or otherwise. AKGVG & Associates does not intend to advertise its services through this.
Posted by:
CA Ankit Salot
AKGVG & Associates