Cracking the case with digital forensics

In the world of law enforcement, digital forensics is a game changer nearly as important as DNA testing.

When two 13 year old girls went missing in September 2014, the first place detectives looked for clues was on their iPods, smartphones and other digital devices. The digital evidence led them to the girls and they were found in the basement of 23 year old Casey Lee Chinn. He is now being charged with felony criminal sexual conduct, kidnapping and solicitation of a child.

Digital forensics – the examination of cellphones, tablets and personal electronics in criminal investigations – is dramatically changing the way cases are worked and solved. While technology has created new portals for predators searching for victims, it is also leaving telltale trails for police.

Law enforcement say that digital forensics has become an investigation imperative. With majority of adults carrying a cellphone, the devices have become the one constant in many people’s lives. Your cellphone has become everything you need throughout the day – your alarm clock, camera, phone line, email, social media terminal and so much more. Police use that almost constant phone activity to verify a suspects or witness’ statement and provide a log of a person’s movements and activities. Smartphones can even be an eyewitness by recording a crime in progress.

Electronic devices are just a treasure trove of information. The digital evidence is one of the first thing investigators look at because they leave footprints all over the place – who you were talking with, where you’ve take your photos and even who you’ve been tweeting.

It’s true; technology leaves a telltale trail for law enforcement and digital forensic investigators.

DLA is based in Cape Town and combines the experience of two seasoned investigators with both criminal and civil backgrounds with the latest technologies to achieve the digital evidence that you require.

The challenges of digital forensics

Forensics is changing, because as the years go by we are living more and more in a digital age. However, the legal system is still catching up when it comes to properly using digital evidence.

So, what is digital evidence? Digital evidence is information found on a wide range of electronic devices that is useful for court cases or situations with disgruntled employees. It is basically like the digital equivalent of a fingerprint or a strand of hair left at the scene.

However, digital evidence that is used in court often fails to meet the same high standards expected of more established forensics practices, especially in making sure the evidence is exactly what it is portrayed to be.

It has become common for criminal trials to rely on digital evidence. And it is not uncommon for innocents to be convicted and guilty people acquitted because of digital evidence.

There are many different reasons for this.

First, the evidence might be compelling when you first look at it, but it could by misleading. Other investigations might not even get to trial because of the complexity or incompleteness of the evidence.

It is a bit worrying that some defendants are pleading guilty based on what appears to be great digital evidence, but in these cases the defense lawyer may not understand it. This is why digital forensics consultants are so important.

Forensic analyses and presentations of digital evidence are sometimes explained by investigators that have little or no experience, which is then made worse by faulty case management.

Another problem may be that the digital forensic processes and tools are not seen as reliable.

Now that we are living in the age of technology, digital forensics will forever have an impact on the way that evidence is gathered and presented in court.

Browse DLA and learn a little more about the world of cellular forensics, data recovery and digital forensics. 

Digital Forensics in Criminal Investigations

Computers and other digital devices are commonly used to commit crimes these days, and thanks to the science of digital forensics and digital evidence, law enforcement can now use computers to fight crime.

For digital evidence to be legally admissible in court, investigators must follow proper legal procedures when recovering and analyzing data from computer systems.

Sometimes the law cannot keep up with technological advancements and this may ultimately limit the use of computer forensics evidence in court. Privacy advocates are growing especially concerned that computer searches may be a breach of a suspect’s human rights. So, as methods to hide evidence become more advanced, technology may be abused by helping criminals hide their actions. In the end, the role of technology in digital forensics may not reach its full potential due to legal boundaries and bad intentions.

Computer and computer-based forensics has been an important part in the conviction of many well-known criminals, including terrorists, sexual predators, and murderers. Terrorist organizations may use the Internet to recruit members, and sexual predators may use social networking sites to stalk their potential victims.

However, most criminals fail to cover their tracks when using technology to implement their crimes. They fail to realize that computer files and data remain on their hard drive even when they are deleted; this allows investigators to track their criminal activity. Even if criminals delete their incriminating files, the data remains in a binary format due to “data remanence” or the residual representation of data. File deletion simply renames the file and hides it from the user; the original file can still be recovered.

Eventually, data may be overwritten and lost due to the strained nature of computer memory, a storage area for used data. A random access memory chip (RAM) retrieves data from memory to help programs to run more efficiently. However, each time a computer is switched on, the RAM loses some of its stored data. Therefore, RAM is referred to as volatile memory, while data preserved in a hard drive is known as persistent memory.

The RAM is constantly swapping seldom used data to the hard drive to open up space in memory for newer data. Over time, though, the contents in the swap file may also be overwritten. Thus, investigators may lose more evidence the longer they wait since computer data does not persist indefinitely. 

Fortunately, computer scientists have engineered equipment that can copy the computer’s contents without turning on the machine. The contents can then be safely used by lawyers and detectives for analysis.

DLA is based in Cape Town and combines the experience of two seasoned investigators with both criminal and civil background with the latest technologies to achieve the digital forensic results that you require.