In a technology-dependent society, many of our daily tasks involve an electronic device. Our activity on these devices is stored and can be traced back to its source with the use of computer forensic software. A multitude of crimes are committed in which suspects unknowingly have some trace of evidence left on their electronic devices. This makes digital evidence collection possible. Evidence can come in a variety of forms such as photos, searched items, audio-video files, web history, and more. Even files that have been deleted can often be retrieved again by investigators with the use of computer forensic software.
Computer Forensic Software is Vital to Digital Evidence Discovery
Crimes such as child exploitation, human trafficking, and terrorism are some of the few incidents where digital evidence discovery is imperative. Electronic devices in these crimes are used to not only store evidence such as media files or documents but also to spread that information to others. For digital evidence to be admissible in a court of law the data must be collected with specialized computer forensic software. There has been a multitude of cases throughout our modern history where computer forensics in law enforcement allowed for the prosecution of individuals through digital evidence. .png?width=460&name=Why%20Computer%20Forensics%20Software%20is%20Vital%20to%20Digital%20Evidence%20Discovery%20(1).png)
Cases Involving Digital Evidence Collection
A very popular case solved with computer forensic software was the BTK killer. Dennis Radar tortured and killed at least ten people while and was on the run for over 30 years. He was known to send police cryptic messages. In one of the instances, he sent police a floppy disk with a letter on it. Law enforcement investigators discovered a deleted Microsoft Word document on the disk and traced the metadata ultimately revealing Dennis Radar’s identity [1].
Another case that made the news involved suspect James M. Cameron who received 16 charges of trafficking in child pornography [1]. Cameron had uploaded child pornography to a Yahoo photo album using various aliases. December 21st, 2007 Cameron’s computers were seized with a search warrant and child pornography (aka child sexual abuse material) was discovered.
These are just a few examples where digital evidence collection has allowed for the prosecution of suspects involved in these types of crimes. Without computer forensics in law enforcement, it would be difficult for investigators to find adequate incriminating evidence and save victims' lives.
Corporations also benefit from computer forensic software. A case involving worldwide intellectual property consisted of three employees who left a large chemical manufacturing company. The employees emailed a customer contact database, invoicing information, financial data, and proprietary information to their home computers in an attempt to steal intellectual property. The desktop systems used by the former employees were analyzed and the original emails were found. This allowed for the transfer of information to be proved.
ADF makes computer forensic investigations easy for law enforcement and corporations.
ADF’s suite of tools makes digital evidence collection easy and quick. Evidence can be collected from Mac, Windows, and Linux devices. Investigators can conduct an in-depth analysis of the data with a timeline view to tie the suspect to files of interest and user activities.
Learn more about Computer Forensics Software
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