Thursday, January 25, 2018

Tips On Computer Forensics Investigation

By Peter Gray


In the current dynamic and increasingly competitive world, many organizations and major corporations around the world are finding the need to rely heavily on technology and other advanced methodologies in order to remain afloat and competitive in the market. Nonetheless, many are times that cyber bullying incidents occur, thus causing losses and other detrimental effects to the company. This thus calls for the need to Computer Forensics Investigation.

Consequently, law enforcement and even private cooperation have been forced over the years to invest in equally tech- savvy ways to curb illegal activities. Over the years many crimes such as child pornography and fraud which have become far too common have been solved and convictions made by use of IT prowess required for a forensic investigation.

The examination usually follows a detailed and comprehensive process to ensure that all facts are put out well and the evidence provided is effective. The phases are inclusive of acquisition, examination, analysis and finally reporting. The tools that are available for a criminologist have set higher standards thus providing factual and precise evidence that the courts can rely on to make a ruling.

Inadequate policies may put the organization at a great risk, and also expose the information of their clients to unauthorized parties. Organizations, therefore, have a moral and legal obligation to ensure they maximally protect the personal information of their clients. Nonetheless, data leakages usually occur, and they pose very serious threats facing organizations, and that is why computer forensics becomes handy.

The actual acquisition of the evidence is then carried out but as earlier stated must follow all legal channels to preserve its integrity and ensure it is admissible in a court of law. Sensitive material must be transferred via controlled disks and appropriately copied to the investigators storage system, follow the required chain of custody and transported in a manner that protects it from loss, damage or compromise. This then paves the way for evidence analysis.

Volatile data can also be recovered whereby when collecting evidence the operating system is still active and any data stored in the RAM recovered before the machine shuts down may not be lost. If the data is lost then the live analysis method can be used to recover the data furthermore, there are specific tools used by the examiners to encrypt data from a locked computer and use it as evidence.

When faced with these cases that require forensic investigations, companies usually tend to concentrate solely on the high costs involved, and overlook the actual situation or ramifications that will result if proper mechanisms are not employed. Evidence that is acquired after the examinations of a competent computer forensics expert can prove to be very weighty and handy, and thus inform the successful results of the investigations. In addition, these services will also reduce the essence of a complete legal tussle or action.

Once all the necessary data or evidence has been obtained a detailed report of all procedures, policies methods and tools used in the entire process must be well documented. These reports are especially vital in court cases because they are a way for any one who wishes to challenge the evidence to see a clear sequence of events that helps confirm that the evidence is authentic and credible which could ultimately directly affect the outcome of a court case.




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