Xiaodong Lin - Introductory Computer Forensics

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Internet technology is advancing at a speed beyond comprehension. With ever-advancing Internet technology, we truly are living in a digital age. It will certainly improve our quality of life, as it can offer the speed, the capabilities, to handle endless different types of transactions at relatively low cost. Things we take for granted in our daily activities are an excellent example: transferring money, surfing, emailing, sharing information, etc. On the other hand, we will become handicap in our daily life if without Internet. Simply put it, we all depend on the capabilities of Internet technology to run our daily errands more efficiently, even when we do not directly notice it.

Unfortunately, one of Murphys more applicable axioms becomes apparent with this technology: with every solution comes a new set of problems. This marvelous new technology will also provide golden opportunities for organized crime groups, as well as other individuals who want to abuse the technology and maximize their profit illegally. Activities like denial of service attacks, website vandalism, online fraud, money laundering, and more have surfaced. We have all read headlines from around the world about companies being hacked and losing personal information; cybercrimes have become a rampant reality that we must all face, and according to the forecast, the cybercrime trends will worsen globally, and billions of dollars will be lost every year in the global conflict against it.

In order to fight against cybercrime effectively, public prosecutors need to be able to do more than simply match a crime to a suspect; they must be able to produce convincing digital evidence in a court of law, before a judge who may not even know what a USB drive is, in order to put the criminals behind bars. This evidence may include all computer log files, corresponding emails, accounting information, spreadsheets, and other related records, regardless of whether or not these files were deleted or not. According to the study, the majority of digital evidence presented in court is obtainable from all sorts of the daily used electronic devices such as computer, digital camera, BlackBerry, and 3G cell phones.

In one case, former Alaska Governor Sarah Palins e-mail account was hacked by a Tennessee student. After the suspect reset Governor Palins e-mail account password and posted the new password on a forum, the FBI was able to trace the suspects digital footprint or trail, particularly his email address, leading to the suspects apartment. This evidence was vital in helping the federal prosecutor to acquire further necessary digital evidence and arrest the suspect, even while the suspect removed, altered, concealed, and covered up files on his laptop computer.

No individual alone can effectively fight with online criminals, and technology is evolving much faster than the law can adapt. Traditional forensic science, while still invaluable, will not be able to deal with this new wave of cybercrimes. As a result, an exciting new branch of forensic sciencedigital forensicsis emerging.

Digital forensic investigation is a sequence of interdependent and linked procedures, employing technology to study and recreate chains of events that lead to the current state of digital objects. Digital objects may include (but are not limited to) computer systems, such as software applications and databases; data storage devices, such as hard disks, CDs, DVDs, and USB drives; electronic document such as spreadsheets, documents, emails, and images. Digital objects could be as large as an entire network or as small as a single byte. By using technology to examine the digital objects, the investigator can present trustworthy, satisfactory, and legally acceptable evidence to a court of law and provide answers to the questions raised about criminal events.

As a new subject, digital forensics is not well known to the general public, but interest in it is booming, as more companies and individuals seek the truth about what has happened to their network infrastructure. Even as a growing number of court cases (civil, criminal, and otherwise) involve digital evidence (or electronic evidence), trained digital forensic professionals are in short supply, and cybercrime can be committed anywhere in the world. It has become essential for universities and colleges to offer digital forensics to their students so that the students are well prepared with the proper tools to fight against cybercrime.