Computer crime, including identity theft and financial crimes, has increased as computer ownership has grown. Police departments are increasingly using computer forensics to retrieve and analyze electronic information to solve crimes. Cybercriminals use countermeasures to prevent forensic investigations, but experts can decode passwords and retrieve hidden files. Email analysis is also a key part of computer forensics.
Computers are a very big part of most people’s everyday lives. In fact, the number of households that own a personal computer has increased exponentially over the past five to ten years. Consequently, computer crime, specifically identity theft and other computer-generated financial crimes, has increased in number and become an increasingly serious problem.
Many municipal police departments have computer forensics staff. However, in the coming years they will become even more widespread. Computer forensics uses special techniques and skills to retrieve, authenticate, and analyze electronic information and data. It is especially useful for police and investigators who are trying to solve a crime where a computer was used.
An expert in the field of computer forensics usually has extensive working knowledge and specific software that works on the devices that store data. This can include hard drives and other computer media. The computer forensics specialist can determine sources of digital evidence such as emails and other documentation. She also knows how to preserve digital evidence, analyze it, and present findings to investigators and, if necessary, before a court of law.
Cybercriminals have become increasingly complex and intelligent in the crimes they commit. Many of the most complicated crimes committed by cybercriminals are successful because criminals have installed countermeasures on their computers. These countermeasures work to prevent a computer forensic investigation. They can be in the form of computer viruses, electromagnetic damage or other computerized traps. In fact, if a computer forensics expert is not careful, countermeasures can destroy the evidence in its entirety and make it unrecoverable.
A computer forensic investigation usually begins when a search order is granted to seize a suspect’s computer and other digital media. The data on the suspect’s computer is copied and then analyzed using the investigator’s technical equipment and software. The suspect’s computer becomes evidence. Consequently, it must remain on a tight chain of evidence to keep it untouched.
Some researchers specialize in decoding passwords. They are also aware of the importance of not shutting down a running computer. If they need to shut down the equipment, they copy all the data off the hard drive. Sometimes the data is not even visible to the eye. There may not be a visible file. These hidden files are gems for a computer forensics team.
Electronic mail or email is one of the primary methods of communication for most people. Some researchers specialize in preserving, retrieving, and analyzing email files. They can be stored on your hard drive, on an external network, or on a removable hard drive, to name just a few. Sophisticated software allows investigators to search thousands of emails – including those the suspect had deleted from the system.
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