Forensics
- Forensic Evidence
- Preserving the Crime Scene
- Autopsy
- Interview Witnesses
- Coercing Confessions
- False Confessions
- Fingerprint Evidence
- Gunshot Wounds
- Child Homicide
- Drowning
- DNA Evidence
- Accident Reconstruction
- Forensic Botany
- Forensic Dentistry
- Trace Evidence
- Digital Evidence
- Forensic Photography
- Collecting Evidence
- Toxicology
Digital Evidence
Digital Forensics focuses on electronically stored data. It encompasses a wide range of electronic items, including cell phones, smart phones, computers, laptops, tablets, digital cameras, thumb drives, GPS navigation systems, mp3 players-the list could go on forever. This newer branch of forensics becomes a more important field in legal matters as technology advances and people become increasingly dependant on the digital world.
If we are using these types of devices, law enforcement can track and record our every move. Social media users may “check-in” when they arrive somewhere (logging in via their smart phone, tablet, or laptop); that type of digital evidence can either corroborate or discredit an alibi. A GPS system will show recent trips a person took using the device. A live webcam streaming on the Internet may be focused on the street where a crime occurs. It is easy to see why law enforcement has a much easier time finding incriminating evidence. Once a search warrant is granted for your smart phone, a wealth of evidence can be extracted.
A computer continuously logs user activity, including websites visited, documents or photos uploaded or edited, and applications used. While computers store some activity only temporarily, oftentimes a computer expert can unearth “footprints” from which he can track the user’s activity. Such evidence may prove indispensible to prosecutions for various cyber crimes, including identity fraud, credit card fraud, larceny, embezzlement, money laundering, hacking websites, online threats, distribution of contraband, including illegal drugs, copyright infringement, etc.
Once a device is identified as evidence, the expert should photograph it and take detailed notes on its appearance, including what is shown on the screen, the direction it faces, and if it is connected to anything (a modem, another computer, etc.). As with all evidence, chain of custody is vital to maintaining the integrity and validity of the evidence.
A user may try to cover up his wrongdoings by deleting files or “hiding” them on his computer. A digital forensic expert should be able to recover deleted files and find hidden files with just a few clicks of a mouse. An expert will make an exact copy of the evidence, usually the hard drive, even on scene if necessary, before risking the destruction of the evidence.
The details of computer analysis are complicated and unless you are versed in computer programming, it can be difficult to understand. A digital forensic expert faces quite a challenge when testifying at trial; he must not only explain the methods he employed to gather the evidence, but must do so in language that jurors can follow.
Experts are able to extract digital evidence from not only computer hard drives, but from cell phones, smart phones, iPads, thumb drives, CDs, DVDs, SD cards, etc. Within the documents found on a portable device, an expert may discover when the file was created, the last time it was opened, and what type of machine the file was created on. The SD card is the new roll of film for digital cameras. Digitally storing the images makes them easier to recover than a roll of film that has been tampered with.
A cell phone company will likely maintain a database of user texts and phone calls, including times, etc., for both. Deleting such data from the phone will prove futile, since the cell phone service provider maintains its own separate database. Where an individual is accused of violating a restraining order, cell phone service provider records can be used to corroborate a victim’s claim that the accused telephoned her on multiple occasions following the issuance of the restraining order. This type of digital evidence can be difficult to refute.
Kevin J. Mahoney is a Boston criminal defense lawyer. He can be reached at 617-492-0055 if you or a loved one is being investigated for or accused of a crime. TOPRelentless
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