Principles of Digital Forensic

Principles of Digital Forensic

Forensic Procedures for Investigation

In the contemporary world, the reliance on information technology has grown drastically. As a result, the use of digital forensics has also become very popular since hackers, and malicious users have more targets and have also increased in number. Conducting digital forensics follows the following procedures: policy procedure development, evidence assessment, evidence acquisition, evidence examination, and documenting and reporting. The development of policies is vital since it is what will guide the entire process and provide guidelines for acceptable actions. Evidence assessment is also important as it is at this point where the investigator can find any missing data or loopholes in the data that need addressing. The acquisition of evidence determines if it is admissible in court or if the data will be rejected because of how it was acquired. After the evidence has been assessed, a report is supposed to be written in order to state all the facts collected and the way forward (Hou, Li, Yu & Shi, 2019).

Trends in Digital Forensics

The world of digital forensics is always evolving, and new trends are commonplace as experts find new ways of performing digital forensics and hackers’ new ways of conducting attacks. The major trend in digital forensics is new technologies such as artificial intelligence and light fidelity. The use of artificial intelligence in digital forensics has allowed experts to sift through large amounts of data in a shorter time in comparison to humans. Light fidelity or Li-Fi is a form of data transfer similar to wireless fidelity but much harder to intercept or hack into (Hou, Li, Yu & Shi, 2019). The technology uses light beams that carry data from one point to another at faster speeds and longer distances than wireless fidelity. Light fidelity also transfers data directly through a specified path, unlike Wi-Fi, which broadcasts signals and can easily be intercepted.

Data Reconnaissance Activities

Data reconnaissance in the field of cybersecurity refers to covertly collecting data and information from a target or enemy. Ethical hacking or cybersecurity is used to identify areas of weakness in a computer system in order to make amendments to repair the problem. Data reconnaissance is a systematic procedure that has steps in order to achieve the intended goals. The main procedures for conducting a data reconnaissance include accumulation of inceptive data, measuring the distance from which an attack can occur, identifying all connected devices, identifying the operating system being used, deciding on the most effective framework to be used, identifying all open ports and their function then finally map out the network. Data reconnaissance can either be active or passive. Active data reconnaissance means directly connecting to the application where data is supposed to be collected. Passive data reconnaissance, on the other hand, refers to collecting data through other means, such as indexed websites, rather than connecting directly to the application. One disadvantage of active reconnaissance is that it is much easier to identify than passive reconnaissance (Meier, 2018).

Methods for Using Forensic Tools

Multiple tools for cyber forensics exist and have different purposes. Some operating systems, such as Backtrack, come equipped with forensic tools already installed, while on others, such as Windows, the user has to download the tools. Forensic Toolkit is one such example and was created by AccessData, a data forensics organization. The program is downloaded as a disk image and loaded onto the hard disk, where the user can boot from the disk image in order to access features of the toolkit. The toolkit can be used to launch brute force and dictionary attacks in order to crack passwords. The toolkit can also be used to recover lost emails and crack email information (Hou, Li, Yu & Shi, 2019).

Another method of using forensic tools is by installing the Backtrack operating system on the user’s computer. The OS disk image can be downloaded online and burnt to a disk or copied to a USB device. Once installed on the computer, the user will have access to multiple forensic tools such as Nmap, zenmap, and port scanners, among others. The user can download the user manual or watch video tutorials on the internet. Some forensic tools, such as Nmap and Zenmap, can be downloaded individually and installed on any operating system (Meier, 2018).

Legal Implications for Electronic Crime and How They Affect Evidence Collection

Electronic or cybercrime has become more popular and frequent in comparison to previous periods. As a result, governments across the globe have taken measures to draft laws and policies that are aimed at deterring crime. Cybercrime has multiple implications depending on the severity of the crime, such as a jail sentence, attracting a fine, or community service which is all aimed at stopping the crime. Some hackers are provided with amnesty deals if they use their skills for the government instead of facing a jail term. Some examples of cybercrime or electronic crime include forgery, identity theft, theft of electronic money, and obtaining money through false pretenses (Meier, 2018).

In the United States of America, each state has different state laws that govern the prosecution of electronic crime, which makes it difficult to prosecute such crimes. The nature of cybercrime is that it can traverse the country and continental borders, making it difficult to prosecute some crimes. For instance, if a hacker located on one continent attacks an organization on another continent, it is difficult to prosecute the criminal unless the two countries have a good relationship or clearly stated policy against electronic crime (Jones & Vidalis, 2019). Laws against cybercrime also consider the level of culpability of an individual before providing a verdict. An individual might commit an electronic crime purposely while another commits the same crime out of negligence; the two cannot be handled the same. Negligence implies the individual did not know they were committing a crime, while purposely implies the individual had an intention to commit the crime. This consideration is also made when collecting evidence of a crime.

Procedures for Law Enforcement

When conducting law enforcement, there are several procedures that have to be followed in order to ensure the law is followed appropriately. Procedures and policies are rules that govern how evidence is collected and how the law is enforced. Law enforcement procedures are put in place in order to protect both law enforcement officers and suspected criminals. Policies and procedures are also meant to cultivate trust in the system that all innocent individuals will be freed, and the guilty shall be apprehended. One law enforcement procedure is that all police officers must be trained in order to act appropriately in challenging situations. This procedure will reduce the risk of injury as well as an escalation of a bad situation to a worse situation (Jones & Vidalis, 2019).

References

Hou, J., Li, Y., Yu, J., & Shi, W. (2019). A survey on digital forensics in the Internet of Things. IEEE Internet of Things Journal, 7(1), 1-15.

Jones, A., & Vidalis, S. (2019). Rethinking digital forensics. Annals of Emerging Technologies in Computing (AETiC), Print ISSN, 2516-0281.

Meier, S. (2018). Digital forensics. In Dehumanization of Warfare (pp. 129-145). Springer, Cham.

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Principles of Digital Forensic

For this assignment, you are asked to prepare an essay based on your experiences in this course. Now that you have finished all of the reading assignments for this course reflect on the major concepts discussed by addressing the elements listed below.
 Identify forensic procedures for investigation.
 Explain trends in digital forensics.
 Explain data reconnaissance activities.
 Explain methods for using forensic tools.
 Discuss legal implications for electronic crimes.
 Explain how new laws affect evidence collection.
 Examine procedures for law enforcement reporting.
The purpose of this assignment is to provide you with an opportunity to reflect on the material that you have read and to expand on your reading.