Computer Forensics
Digital forensics which uses computer crime laboratories has its basis on data recovery which is the first thing in every computer forensics exercise. Computer forensics just like the other types of forensic sciences are used by the law enforces to conduct better evidence gathering and investigations.
The usefulness of computer forensic examinations activities in search of evidence is very sensitive. the implications of the obtained evidence with regard to innocence or guilt of the suspect requires very high standards of work from the forensic expert. If the forensic expert fails to do the right thing then there will be loss of credibility and trust in the specialist. This then implies that forensic examinations should welcome no errors but instead always be done under very high standards of accuracy.
Computer records usually consist of very long strings of ones and zeros which do not easily show their origin (Casey, 2000). This in itself is a very major problem which law enforcement professionals get. This is because such strings of data enable their authors to be somehow anonymous. A good example of such an instance is the Internet, which has a provision of its users to send anonymous mails without even disclosing their names and so when the prosecutors look for the admission to such computer records to act as evidence against the defendants then the defendants might raise a challenge to them regarding the authenticity of that particular record since he or she might claim that he or she is not the author. The fact that an addressor an account was accessed does not conclusively lead to an identification of the location or identity of the specific individual who is answerable for using it. As a result, such kind of evidence which is relying on IP address or account logs has to full demonstrate the relationship between those logs and the location or the person.
Before a law enforcement profession can confidently report computer record evidence he or she should demonstrate that it is authentic (DOJ, 2000). If by any chance the courts views that the kind of evidence provided by the prosecutor is either not correct or not authentic enough then such a scenario puts the law enforcers in jeopardy and a feeling of incompetence (Gobbo, et al, 1984).
A very recent finding by fraud advisory panel shows that between the year 2002 and 2006 in Britain, computer related fraud investigation had a cost of almost one hundred million pounds which was the amount used to per year facilitate legal cases. A precise example is the year two thousand ad five’s jubilee line prosecution, it did not succeed after a period of twenty on month with ongoing trial which was held at the Old Bailey and was estimated at sixty million pounds (Forensic Focus, 2009).
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