How Cyber Forensics Has Added A New Dimension To Crime Detection

If you are thinking of cyber forensics as a career, then you probably already know that it is possibly the most recent facet of forensic science there is. Cyber forensics have evolved greatly over the last century, and has been responsible for the arrest and subsequent conviction of many criminals. When you mention forensics to people, they immediately think of the traditional techniques, when crime scene material is analyzed for evidence which has been left by the human body. This can be fingerprints, saliva, blood, or even DNA. Similar techniques are also used to analyze the earth for footprints or tire tracks for example. Now, there is a very different type of forensics.

There are regular additions to the field of science and one of the most recent is that of cyber forensics. Most people just consider fingerprinting, DNA and the analysis of tire tracks and footprints to be all that forensics is about. However, now the field has, and is still expanding especially in the field of computers and the Internet. There are digital footprints of everyone that are stored somewhere and by someone that can be found and accessed if someone is determined enough.

When a computer Recycle Bin is emptied, all evidence of the existence of the file disappears. This is because the indicators which point to the file are removed. The actual data, however, stays in the computer hard drive memory until it is overwritten by fresh data. If the computer does not have a lot of extra files added to it, the erased data can still be in the memory years later. A forensic expert, with the right software, can easily access the data in any part of the hard drive.

A similar system exists in the data banks of other electronic devices, and these can reveal even more damning and useful information. Many people store the names and numbers of all of their associates in their cell phone memory, and this includes criminals as well. Further information of occasional contacts can be gleaned from SMS messages, call lists and missed call lists. Entire gangs of criminals can be rounded up in this way, all starting from the careless use of electronic devices by one member of the gang.

The hardest part of cyber forensics is not actually the retrieval of data, as anything which is in the system can be retrieved easily with the right software. The hardest part is proving in court that the data was obtained in the way that it was. It is obviously possible to plant data into a computerized system, so you need to be able to prove that this did not happen. Of course, if the data is not actual evidence, but merely something which can be used to give the police other leads, this will not be a problem. Using data as information to give the police a fresh line of inquiry is a very common and useful employment of cyber forensics.






 

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Portage Northern High School forensics team wins 11th consecutive state title - Kalamazoo Gazette - MLive.com

Kalamazoo Gazette - MLive.com

Portage Northern High School forensics team wins 11th consecutive state title
Kalamazoo Gazette - MLive.com
By Tom Haroldson | Special to the Kalamazoo Gazette Kalamazoo Gazette fileThe trophy case for forensics teams at Portage Northern will be getting another state championship trophy. PORTAGE, MI EUR Portage Northern High School's forensics team has won its .

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Gaylord sends 5 to Forensics State Finals - Petoskey News-Review

Gaylord sends 5 to Forensics State Finals
Petoskey News-Review
GAYLORD EUR” The Gaylord Forensics Team qualified five team members for the 2012 Forensics State Finals, which were held May 4-5 at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo. Team members who qualified included Bri Hjresa in Broadcasting; Parker Paxson .

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AFP to get new forensics lab - Ninemsn

AFP to get new forensics lab
Ninemsn
Australian Federal Police (AFP) are to get a brand new state-of-the-art forensics science laboratory. No firm price has been set but it will be constructed in the Australian Capital Territory, replacing an older outdated facility.

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Gareth Williams: Met orders forensic review - The Guardian

The Guardian

Gareth Williams: Met orders forensic review
The Guardian
The commissioner said a new private company would re-examine the forensics in the investigation, adding that this fact implied no criticism of the firm that originally carried out the work. The cause of death of Williams, 31, who was found in the .
MI6 officers could face DNA screeningThe Independent
Warning to MI6 over spy death probeThe Press Association
MI6 staff 'may face DNA screening over spy death'BBC News
Telegraph.co.uk
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2012 Capital-Journal Academic All-State team
This year's Topeka Capital-Journal's All-State Academic Team is set apart not only by stellar ACT and SAT scores and high grade point averages, but many of the students also excelled in sports and competitive scholastic teams, held leadership positions in extracurricular clubs, participated in band and choir activities, volunteered in their communities and worked part-time jobs --- all while ...


URI named center of academic excellence in cybersecurity
URI WAS named a National Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education by The National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security...


"Volatility On Demand": Catching A 54 Second Grand Rehearsal For A Market Crash In The Act
After uncovering all the dirty HFT-related details surrounding the SEC-complicit misdirection of the May 6, 2010 flash crash, which scapegoated a plain vanilla mutual fund with a report that has been now proven to be fatally flawed, and likely fabricated on purpose, the market forensics at Nanex have now uncovered something even more disturbing. As a reminder, some time ago, Nanex discovered ...


 

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