The Need for Computer Forensics

In this article we will look at what is the need for computer forensics and what are the challenges faced by forensics investigators while dealing with storage devices.

The advances in ICT and computers provides avenues for misuse as well as opportunities for committing crime. The widespread use of computer forensics is the result of two factors:

• The increasing dependence of law enforcement on digital evidence
• Ubiquity of computers that followed from the microcomputer revolution

Watch this video to learn about the need for computer forensics:

There are many challenges for the forensics investigator because storage devices are available in various shapes and sizes as shown in the following figure:

Looking for Digital Forensics Evidence (DFE) is like looking for a needle in the haystack. Chain of Custody means the chronological documentation trail, that indicates seizure, custody, transfer, analysis, and disposition of evidence. Evidence must be handled in a careful manner to avoid later allegations of tampering or misconduct. The purpose of the chain of custody is to establish that the alleged evidence is, indeed, related to the crime. Documentation must include:

• Conditions under which the evidence is collected
• Identity of all those who handled the evidence
• Duration of evidence custody
• Security conditions while handling or storing the evidence
• Manner in which evidence is transferred to subsequent custodians
• Signatures of persons involved at each step

Suryateja Pericherla

Suryateja Pericherla, at present is a Research Scholar (full-time Ph.D.) in the Dept. of Computer Science & Systems Engineering at Andhra University, Visakhapatnam. Previously worked as an Associate Professor in the Dept. of CSE at Vishnu Institute of Technology, India.

He has 11+ years of teaching experience and is an individual researcher whose research interests are Cloud Computing, Internet of Things, Computer Security, Network Security and Blockchain.

He is a member of professional societies like IEEE, ACM, CSI and ISCA. He published several research papers which are indexed by SCIE, WoS, Scopus, Springer and others.