What is digital forensics and
What role does it play in modern society?
by
Joseph M. Williams jwilliams@champlain.edu By submitting this assignment I acknowledge that I have read and agree to abide by the Champlain College Academic Honesty Policy. I declare that all work within this assignment is my own or appropriately attributed. I accept that failure to follow the academic honesty policy may result in a failure grade, or expulsion from Champlain College.
Date Due: _1/20/13______ Date Submitted:___1/20/13_____
The general public have a vague understanding of what digital forensic is; thanks to shows like CSI and NCIS people have an idea of the kind of work done in digital forensics. A general definition of digital forensics is that it is the process and investigative methods used to find digital evidence and prepare it for legal proceedings. This can also be applied to non-legal matters such as penetration examination of a commercial network looking for vulnerabilities. Casey (2011) explains that digital evidence can be found in different computer systems and groups the systems into three categories; open computer system, communication systems and embedded computer systems. This grouping helps further explain where and what digital forensics can be applied.
Digital forensics uses scientific methods of extracting evidence from computers or other digital devices. It simples involves retrieving data from existing or deleted files, interpreting there meaning and putting it all together in context of an investigation. Digital forensics is a scientific process that uses analysis tools, methods and documentation to discover electronic evidence. Where other forensic sciences may alter the original media digital forensics strives to maintain the integrity of the original media and make sure it is not altered in any way. The methods used to create forensic copies of media and data keeps the integrity of the original intact. McKemmish defines
References: Dahake, S. & Daware, S. (2012). A Study of Digital Forensic: Process and Tools. IJCA Proceedings on National Conference on Innovative Paradigms in Engineering and Technology (NCIPET 2012), (10). Garfinkel, S. L. (2010). Digital forensics research: The next 10 years. Digital Investigation, 7, S64–S73. McKemmish, R. (1999). What is forensic computing. Trends and issues in crime and criminal justice, 118, 1–6. Casey, Eoghan. (2011). Digital Evidence and Computer Crime: Forensic Science, Computers and the Internet (3rd edition). Waltham, MA: Elsevier Inc.