Introduction to Computer Forensics
With the significant rise in the use of science and technology in every facet of human life, it is hard to imagine a criminal activity without having a digital dimension in it. In the past two decades, a new class of crime scenes has become more prevalent, that is, crimes committed within electronic or digital domains, particularly within cyberspace.[1] Criminals involved in violent or socio-economic offences are using technology extensively to facilitate their acts (which are illegal in nature) and avoid apprehension, creating new challenges for law enforcement agencies, forensic experts, prosecutors, lawyers and judges. The agencies of Criminal justice system throughout the world are being confronted with an increased need to investigate crimes perpetrated partially or entirely on the Internet or other electronic media. There is no doubt about the fact that the introduction of computers as a tool for criminal activity has significantly enhanced the criminal’s ability to perform, hide, or otherwise aid unlawful or unethical activity. The sudden outbreak of technical expertise by the common population, clubbed with anonymity, seems to encourage crimes using computer systems since there is apparently very little chance of being prosecuted, let alone being found guilty of the same. These crimes involving a computer are not necessarily newly evolved crimes, but rather sophisticated crimes exploiting computing power and accessibility to information. They are the consequence of excessive availability and user proficiency of computer systems in unethical hands. Extraction of evidence from such systems, which is electronic in nature, has been a challenge for the crime investigators in order to present them before the courts to establish any fact relating to a crime. In other words, in order to prosecute such crimes, two aspects must be given attention to: the evidence must first be gathered in sufficient quantity to substantiate any criminal charge before the court, and the same must be handled properly so that it holds up in the court. However, as much of such evidence will be in digital form, the ability to extract the relevant digital evidence in a manner that preserves the value and integrity of the data is critical. That is why a careful, methodical process for collecting data from digital devices is of utmost requirement.[2]
Hence, to prosecute criminals involved with digital crimes, investigators must employ consistent and well-defined forensic procedures to extract evidence from such sophisticated devices. The term ‘forensic’ applies to courts or the judicial system.[3] Forensic Science i.e. application of science to a matter of law, has emerged as an integral part of criminal justice system as far as extraction and analysis of scientific evidence is concerned. The evidence extracted from computer systems is a type of scientific evidence, which requires scientific procedure to be followed to appreciate the same by the court of law. In the recent times, relying more and more on the evidence extracted from computer systems to bring about convictions has forged a new means of scientific investigation. The term used to coin this area of investigation is “computer forensics”. It is an area of science that has come under the scrutiny of law enforcement, prosecutors and judges. The primary reason for the scrutiny revolves around cleanliness of the data being presented.[4]
Computer forensics, the science of identifying, recovering and analysing the contents found on digital devices such as desktops, notebooks, tablets, smartphones, etc., was not known to the agencies of criminal justice system a few years ago. However, with the growing incidence of cyber-crime, and the increased adoption of digital devices, this branch of forensics has gained significant importance in the recent past, augmenting what was conventionally limited to the recovery and analysis of biological and chemical evidence during criminal investigations.[5]
[1] See Eoghan Casey, Digital Evidence and Computer Crime 8 (2011)
[2] DR. NAGARATHNA, CYBER CRIME LAWS – A HANDBOOK, Vol. I, NLSIU 35 (2016)
[3] What is Forensics? CRIMESCENEINVESTIGATOREDU.ORG www.usdoj.gov/criminal/cybercrime/s&smanual2002.htm, (2002)
[4]Cornell Walker, Computer Forensics: Bringing the Evidence to Court 1, 3, INFOSECWRITERS.COM, available at http://www.infosecwriters.com/text_resources/pdf/Computer_Forensics_to_Court.pdf
[5] See generally Dr. Jeetendra Pande & Dr. Ajay Prasad, Digital Forensics (2016)