Uses of Computer Forensics
Posted on | November 6, 2011 | No Comments
There are many practical uses of computer forensics. The recovery of data that can aid in a criminal or civil investigation is one such use. Computer forensics can also be used to recreate how and when a computer was used or how a virus was able to infiltrate into a network.
Evidence can be extracted from many different sources
Document access time can be important in cases where intellectual property is important. For example, when an employee goes from one company to another, they are often faced with the temptation to take some important data with them. Depending on the type of file and type of hard drive formatting used, important metadata such as date created, date last accessed, and date last modified can be used to determine if and when a file was accessed. Of course, a computer forensics expert is needed in many of these cases to determine whether the file was accessed by a user or by some system process (such as an anti-virus scan or a disk defragmentation operation).
Internet history can also prove useful during the course of an investigation. Modern web browsers keep history files, passwords, and other valuable information. In fact, you could even call the browser cookie a form of computer forensics, as this information allows web sites to track what you are searching for and what websites you are visiting. This information is often used to direct users to relevant ads and products, and internet marketers are able to use this to create finely-tuned customer demographics.
Often neglected until recently is the value of forensic information that can be stored in smartphones. Modern smartphones not only keep call logs, but also can store text messages, credentials to internet services, internet history, and even location information (such as GPS coordinates, or the location of WiFi hotspots near you). Some modern smartphones use this location information to display ads, but the impact on forensic investigations is also enormous. This info can often be extracted from a digital forensics pro, or with a device like Cellebrite’s UFED.
There are more uses of computer forensics, but these are some basic ideas that can get you started. If you have any other uses, be sure to leave them in the comments!
Tags: Computer Forensics > internet history > investigation > metadata > uses of computer forensics
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