Importance of Network Forensics
Introduction
The term forensics refers to the use of science in investigating and revealing facts about criminal incidents executed in the civil courts of law. It may also be defined as a procedure for applying scientific knowledge in presenting evidence before the court to aid in prosecuting a criminal offense tabled before the judges. However, when the term is combined with the network, it refers to a subcategory of digital forensics that essentially examines the network and the traffic going through it to establish any malicious activities majorly related to cyber-attacks (Khan et al., 2016). An increase in innovation and growth of the internet also saw an increase in cybercrime, making network forensics an important discipline in ensuring all malicious activities are brought to book
through retrieval of messages, file transfers, web browsing history, and reconstruction of the original transaction. This paper discusses the importance of network forensics, mistakes that may be made during investigations and avoiding them, and the form of evidence that can be extracted on a client’s computer while carrying out forensic investigations.
The importance of network forensics
Most businesses increased the number of devices and high-speed ports in their networks. In the past, corporate networks were limited to computers. Thanks to the development of smartphones and the internet, networks can now support far more devices than in the past (Khan et al., 2016). The attack surface widens as additional devices are added to networks. Modern threats are much more sophisticated and covert. Modern attacks have precise targets, and the perpetrators put much effort into dodging capture (Khan et al., 2016). Data exfiltration takes place in modest volumes and is often encrypted. Thus alerts are rarely raised. Due to these realities, it is considerably more difficult for forensics investigators to detect assaults and respond to them. To properly analyze attacks, sophisticated tools, and knowledgeable investigators are required.
Network forensics provide excellent visibility into the internal traffic flow of the firm. Because of this, investigators can scan the network and delve deeper into details. Usually, this involves two steps. The gathering of data is the initial step. It is necessary to gather network data, extract metadata from it, and index it so that different search engines can be used to look for specific information (Khan et al., 2016). The actual search for the information of our interest is the second phase. Also, network forensics supports intelligent monitoring and analysis in organizational settings. Unusual behaviors within the network may require study, whether part of a targeted attack or a deliberate red teaming effort. As we already indicated, these operations frequently take place covertly; therefore, it is not always a good idea to wait for notifications from automated programs. It is frequently necessary to actively hunt by watching the network traffic for odd patterns (Khan et al., 2016). Let us say a system has been regularly connecting to a strange domain for a few days, and there has recently been a surge in the volume of data transferred to this domain. Analysis may be required because this raises a red flag.
Mistakes that can be made during investigations and how to avoid them
Several mistakes can be made while conducting network forensic investigations. One of these mistakes is speculation that the digital forensics services team makes the evidence look less convincing before the court of law (Ribeiro et al., 2019). Speculation is the gap in precisely identifying the culprit of criminal activity. Inadequate prevention is the other mistake that can be made, encompassing alteration of the metadata, caches, or temporary files. This mistake compromises the nature of the attack caused as well as the data to be used for forensic investigation. The last mistake that could jeopardize forensic investigations is inadequate communication. The success of forensic investigation procedures calls for the police, detective, coroner, and forensic experts to work together to execute the identified culprit (Ribeiro et al., 2019). However, a lack of communication and substantial damage to relevant authorities may compromise the entire procedure.
However, these mistakes can be avoided in the following ways. First, forensic experts should go over and beyond in tabling explicit evidence that leaves no room for speculations to be done. This can be attained by collecting data from the scene of the incident, strong signals, and the stories of people who experienced this form of breach. The evidence collected should be so that people can see, touch, or listen and be used as factual information for prosecuting a case (Ribeiro et al., 2019). Also, inadequate prevention as a mistake can be avoided by the forensic expert launching investigations without informing the victim of the attack. This is because informing the victim may prompt the culprit to alter the caches of temporary files. Lastly, inadequate communication can be prevented by ensuring that all the stakeholders and customers are informed about the nature of the breach (Ribeiro et al., 2019). This should include the business data that may have been leaked or exposed and any substantial progress made regarding the forensic investigation.
Types of evidence that can be found on a client’s computer related to network activity
Different types of evidence can be found on a client’s computer to inform forensic investigations. Demonstrative evidence is the first type of evidence that can be found on a client’s computer. This type of evidence falls under two broad categories: physical and illustrative. Physical evidence entails pieces of evidence that can be seen and touched, such as stolen inventory found in the culprit’s locker (Khan et al., 2016). On the other hand, illustrative evidence entails charts, graphs, photos, and recordings that show the culprit compromising the system of an organization to steal confidential information or modify it for their benefit. The other form of evidence that could be found on the client’s computer is digital evidence. This includes but is not limited to text messages, social media posts, documents extracted from hard drives, and audio and video files (Khan et al., 2016). These sources can provide substantial evidence for the prosecution of the identified culprit.
Conclusion
Conclusively, network forensics is an important field that ensures all criminal activities are brought to the book. It involves an examination of both the network and traffic going through it to unleash malicious activities primarily related to cyber-attacks. Network forensics is important because it increases the visibility of traffic flowing into and out of the organization’s system. The metadata from the traffic can be used to look for information regarding any form of breach launched by third parties. It is also important because it necessitates close monitoring of unusual behaviors to keep the system safe and secure. However, some mistakes that can be committed while conducting forensic investigations include speculation, inadequate prevention, and inadequate communication. These can be avoided by the forensic team uniting towards a common goal and developing an argument that warrants no speculation. Some of the evidence that could be traced to a client’s computer includes but is not limited to demonstrative evidence comprising physical and illustrative evidence and digital evidence.
References
Khan, S., Gani, A., Wahab, A. W. A., Shiraz, M., & Ahmad, I. (2016). Network forensics: Review, taxonomy, and open challenges. Journal of Network and Computer Applications, 66, 214-235.
Ribeiro, G., Tangen, J. M., & McKimmie, B. M. (2019). Beliefs about error rates and human judgment in forensic science. Forensic Science International, 297, 138-147.
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Question 
In this unit, you learned about network forensics. For this assignment, you will further explore this concept. Compose an essay detailing the importance of network forensics. In your essay, you should explain the following:
the importance of network forensics;
Importance of Network Forensics
mistakes that can be made during investigations and how to avoid them, and
the types of evidence that can be found on a client’s computer related to network activity
Your essay must be at least three pages in length, not counting the title and reference pages, and you must include an introduction section. Please provide a minimum of two scholarly references to support your assignment, one of which may be your textbook. Adhere to APA Style when creating citations and references for this assignment. APA formatting, however, is not necessary.