Digital investigation

Digital investigation, also known as computer forensics, is a specialized discipline in analyzing digital media to collect, preserve, and analyze digital evidence. This practice is used to investigate computer crimes, illicit activities, or security incidents related to computer systems.

Computer investigation plays an essential role in detecting and prosecuting criminal activities related to the use of information technology. Digital investigators must have in-depth knowledge of computer systems, digital investigation tools, and legal procedures to conduct effective and admissible investigations in court.

The process of computer investigation generally follows several steps :

1. Identification and Preparation: This step involves identifying potential sources of evidence, such as hard drives, servers, storage devices, etc. Investigators must take measures to preserve the integrity of the evidence and ensure they are not altered or destroyed.
2. Data Acquisition: Relevant data is extracted from digital media in a secure and legally compliant manner. This may include creating a bit-by-bit copy of the original media or using specialized tools to extract relevant data.
3. Data Analysis: Investigators analyze the acquired data to identify relevant pieces of evidence. This may involve recovering deleted files, searching for metadata, analyzing event logs, etc. Advanced techniques such as password recovery or user behavior analysis may also be employed.
4. Evidence Preservation: Digital evidence must be preserved in a way that remains reliable and usable in court. This involves measures such as creating secure data copies, storing them in protected environments, and using hashing techniques to ensure data integrity.
5. Investigation Report: At the end of the investigation, a detailed report is usually prepared to document the methods used, the results obtained, and the conclusions of the investigation. This report can be used in legal proceedings or for internal purposes, such as implementing additional security measures.

To learn more about computer investigation, you can refer to the following resources :

• Computer forensic process
  This page details the different steps of the digital investigation process and explains best practices to follow.
• What is computer forensic
  This page provides general information about digital investigation, its importance, and its applications in various domains such as computer forensics, IT security, and fraud prevention.