ABSTRACT
Caution: It is easy to lose important data when you do not know what you are doing. …erefore, a word to the wise: be certain to know what you are doing before you do anything when digital evidence is concerned! Many agencies now have digital evidence or computer forensics units within their agencies. If your agency does not have one, state and federal agencies are available for that purpose. Regional Computer Forensics Laboratories (RCFL) are located across the United States and can ožer assistance.*
Like the types of digital devices discovered at crime scenes and criminal investigation in general, the types of crimes that may have pertinent digital evidence are equally considerable. A partial list follows, however, almost any crime may have a digital evidence component:
• Child pornography • Identity theŸ • Gambling • Fraud • Terrorism • Crimes of violence • Trade secret theŸ • …eŸ or destruction of intellectual property • Financial crime • Property crime • Internet crimes • Organized crime and drugs • Public corruption • White-collar crimes
The FBI denes digital forensics as the application of science and engineering to the recovery of digital evidence in a legally acceptable method. Examiners use digital
investigation and analysis techniques to determine potential legal evidence by applying their skills on a variety of soŸware programs, dižerent operating systems, varying hard drives sizes, and specic technologies. Examiners are capable of locating deleted, encrypted, or damaged le information that may serve as evidence in a criminal or terrorism investigation.
