Digital Evidence and Forensics

New technologies are the objects that change the nature of criminal behavior and the crime, one of the main technologies that have been used widely for crime purposes is computer. This paper intends to look at computer crime, statistics about it, causes of computer crime, the punishment for those who commit this act, and ways to prevent computer crime. II. History of Computer Crime: Many scholars argued that computer crime began on 1940s with the creation of computer. But the first known computer crime spotted in October 1966 in the United States.

Cybercrime: Investigating High-Technology Computer Crime Robert Moore’s Cybercrime: Investigating High-Technology Computer Crime is an informative text that supplies the reader with basic understandable knowledge of increasing cybercrimes and strategies that law enforcement are taking in order to catch cyber criminals. Moore’s work has a total of thirteen chapters that are full of information that help the reader better understand the different cybercrime threats such as, hacking, identity theft, child pornography, and financial fraud. Moore also goes into detail on different law enforcement tactics that help catch cyber criminals such as, the seizing of digital evidence, executing search warrants for digital evidence, computer forensics, and cybercriminology. Moore’s main goal is to help the reader grasp a better understanding of cybercrime that faces the world today. Through reading this book, I can validly say that Moore’s thorough work, perspectives, and examples helped me better understand high-technology computer crime and investigative strategies as well.

Digital Evidence and Computer Crime: Forensic Science, Computers, and the Internet is essentially a guide on how to collect and process digital evidence in any situation. In this book, digital evidence is defined as “any data stored or transmitted using a computer that support or refute a theory of how an offense occurred or that address critical elements of the offense such as intent or alibi” (Casey, 7). Most crimes today have some kind of digital element to them, from the crime itself to the criminal’s use of computer systems to communicate, store incriminating data, or search for ways to commit a crime and this creates new challenges for those in law enforcement (Casey, 3). To fully understand what digital evidence is and how it is to be collected, one must have knowledge of the different types of computer systems. The first and most obvious is called an open system.

With criminals adapting to the new technologies preventing fraud, the chances of having your private information stolen is quite high. In this paper, we will be taking a critical look at Phishing, Cyber Stalking, Computer Intrusion, and Identity theft. This paper will also give an explanation of each type of fraud, some examples of how to avoid fraud, and some real world examples of what criminals have done. In the computer world, fraud and crime is a widespread issue that is facing all computer users. People being affected by this range from the average computer user to the big corporate companies that employs thousands of people.

As the internet grows vastly the more dangerous it becomes to its users. With the new advances in technology cyberspace fraud has been increasing. These new advances have made the internet vulnerable to various kinds of e-commerce fraud. New techniques to detect and prevent cyber fraud have been developed to discover and prevent criminals before the fact, rather than after the damage have been done. Individuals and businesses should recognize each new cyber attack and make themselves aware of the consequences each attack can create.

There are so many new practices of criminal activity, such as computer crimes. There are different types of computer crimes that many people become victims of every day. Computer crime is any crime that involves a computer and a network. The computer may have been used in the commission of a crime, or it may be the target ("Computer Crime: Chapter 2: What Are the Crimes? ", n.d.).

Computer Crime has become a very large issue in our society today; this paper will look at this issue from a sociological perspective. It will analyze the various crimes that make up computer crime and see what changes it has brought about in the world in which we live in. Computer crime first is a very new problem in our society today and it is crimes that are committed from a computer. These include embezzling, breaking into other computers, cyber porn and various other crimes that have a drastic affect on the society and the institutions that each of us hold to keep our global society running. To first understand computer crime one must understand first what crime is.

Digital Forensic is the process of uncovering and interpreting electronic data that can be used in a court of law. It requires a set of standards to show how the information that is gathered, preserve, and analyzed is strictly followed. The analysts need to understand the evolution of the current technology and how it will impact how they gather their information. The investigator is able to uncover evidence and analyze it to gain the understanding of the motives, crime, and the criminal’s identity to help solve the crime. As computers and technology continue to become a part of our everyday lives, the cyber realm contains a growing realm for evince in all types of criminal investigations (Cummings, 2008) Digital forensics is a way to connect information security and law enforcement.

These crimes are known as cybercrime or computer crime and they are becoming prevalent in the 21st century by taking crime new levels. The definition of cybercrime according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is a crime that is committed from a computer or from the internet in which criminals use for financial gain, reputation, or cause fear (2010). With cyber crime the computer can be used as a tool to commit the crime, but computers can also be the target of the crime. Also, with the popularity of smart phones, tablets, and portable computers then victims can be targeted from literally anywhere in the world at any moment in our always-connected society. The crimes committed include identity theft, computer/network intrusion, and fraud.

Abstract         This paper discusses several implementations of modern technology in criminal investigations, and the ethical issues that accompany these techniques, focusing on the tradeoff between security and privacy. Specific topics include centralization of information, telecommunications, and general technology. Cases are cited for each topic, as well as a discussion of the ethical issues involved. With the advent of modern technologies, the face of criminal investigations, and indeed daily life, has been irrevocably altered. In addition to locating criminals with ease, authorities now have the ability to monitor potential criminals before they can commit crimes.