Forensic Friday: Computers

Forensic Friday: Computers

Computer Forensics

According to www.searchsecurity.techtarget.com/definition, computer forensics is “the application of investigation and analysis techniques to gather and preserve evidence from a particular computing device in a way that is suitable for presentation in a court of law.” The goal is to examine digital media in such a manner as to identify, preserve, recover, and analyze the digital information to be able to present facts and opinions about the information.

Although most often associated with the investigation of computer crime, computer forensics is also used during civil cases. In addition to data recovery, forensics are used to create an audit trail. In the early 1980s computers became more accessible to the public. As a result, criminal activity increased with crimes such as hacking or the use of computers to commit fraud. The by early 2000s, other crimes such as pornography, espionage, and cyberstalking surfaced.

Dr. Conrad Murray

The good news is that computer forensics has helped solve numerous crimes. Two of the more famous cases are the BTK Killer Dennis Rader. He sent letters to the police on a floppy disc. Metadata within the documents led authorities to Rader’s arrest. Michael’s Jackson’s doctor, Dr. Conrad Murray was convicted by digital evidence on his computer that included medical documentation showing lethal amounts of the drug Propofol.