Digital Forensics

Abstract

Digital devices now pervade our lives. Very seldom does any aspect of our lives not interact with some element of the digital world. As both software and hardware develop in size, speed and complexity at an ever-increasing rate, so does the need for there be a means to investigate this forever growing area of science.
This chapter serves as an introduction to the complex and far-reaching world of cybercrime. It will introduce the reader to the detailed, complex and sometimes confusing world of Digital Forensics and explain some of the techniques and methods investigators use to tease out and make sense of fragments of data in a metaphorical mountain of information. We will, by means of a case study show the complexities involved in actually attributing the actions recorded on a computer to the individual sat at the keyboard, our cybercriminal.
Finally, looking at the predicted changes since the last edition of this chapter as our guide, we cast an eye to the future and consider what challenges the digital investigators of the future will face and perhaps how they may well face them.