Digital Forensics

Digital forensics is the analysis of electronic information that is stored or transmitted in binary form. Electronic devices are everywhere in our society, and they all generate data, which may be important in criminal investigations. In the criminal justice context, the data may be evidence of a crime that was committed electronically, such as credit card or other fraud, but more often, it is substantive evidence that is relevant to other crimes, such as the suspect’s location, communications, or image or audio recordings. The data from electronic devices is often recoverable. The seizure of digital evidence by the police presents privacy concerns, and the courts have ruled that in many instances the police must obtain a particular search warrant before they can search digital data. The admissibility of digital evidence under Daubert standards must be established. However, there are now established standards for such evidence, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology tests many products and provides the basis for meeting the Daubert requirement for testing and proof of its error rate.