The topic that is being viewed in this paper is the importance of digital forensics and its expansion outwards to other professional fields. Though the field is relatively new, being born in the 1970s due to increasing cybercrime, it has been incorporated into solving larger criminal activities through computer forensics, as criminals can leave crucial evidence in their technology. Forensic accounting also solves cases and criminal activities using digital forensics, but focuses more on accounting softwares and data to find evidence of a crime, and will need to fully understand the field in order to present a report accurately. The use of digital forensics is becoming more crucial to solving problems as our society continues to evolve and introduce more technological advances, as more issues will arise with it that will need its assistance.
Delving into Digital Forensics
Introduction
Digital forensics is a key component in the world of forensic science. It is the branch of forensic science that centers around the acquisition, analysis, and reporting of information found on computers and other digital devices. Digital forensics is still a relatively new science, having sprouted out of a need to crack down on cybercrime in the 1970s. However, the processes and materials involved are rapidly changing to keep up with technological advances. Now, digital forensics spans across multiple industries. From solving computer-related crimes to accounting and financial information recovery, digital forensics encompasses a wide variety of fields and is vital to solving the computer’s greatest mysteries.
History
The need for digital forensics came about during the 1970s and 1980s when computer crime was relatively new and on the rise. The first instances were usually carried out by disgruntled employees and usually involved physical damage to the computer system itself, called sabotage (A Brief History of Computer Crime: An Introduction for Students). These crimes eventually became more complex and technical, with the criminals targeting the contents of the computer system rather than the physical system. Salami fraud was one technique that was used to steal small amounts of money, data, etc. over time so that it was hard to notice. One instance of salami fraud was documented at a rent-a-car business in Florida. The business altered its own computer program to add five extra gallons to the tank capacity of the vehicles it rents out, which resulted in their customers incurring fines of anywhere from $2 to $15 for not refilling the tank before returning the car (Salami Fraud). Other cyber crimes around this time included identity theft, hacking, data diddling, and extortion. One of the first governmental actions regarding computer crime was the 1978 Florida Computer Crimes Act which dealt with the unauthorized changes to a computer system or its data. Canada was the first country to introduce federal-level legislation in 1982 with the Privacy Act, a set of laws regulating government use of personal information. Both acts helped lay the groundwork for future computer-related legislation and enabled other government departments to adapt to the changing technological landscape. In 1984, the FBI introduced its Computer Analysis and Response Team, which laid the groundwork for the current department of computer-related security in the FBI today. These developments in technology resulted in further research of digital forensics and computer science, and thus the need for a forensic process.
Digital Forensics Process
The digital forensics process is a series of steps used to carry out digital forensic investigations. Over the last twenty years, many digital forensics process models have been created, but there is not a standardized process model that can be used for every investigation. The reason for this is because “digital forensic practitioners work in several different environments and existing process models have tended to focus on one particular area, such as law enforcement, and fail to take into account the different needs of those working in other areas such as incident response or ‘commerce’” (The Advanced Data Acquisition Model). Richard Brian Adams, a graduate student at Murdoch University, wrote a thesis regarding the development of “a new process model for digital data acquisition that addresses both the practical needs of practitioners working in different areas of the field” (The Advanced Data Acquisition Model). In his thesis, he theorizes how a standard digital forensics process model can be created using three main steps: acquisition, analysis, and reporting. Acquisition involves obtaining data pertinent to the investigation. Once obtained, further analysis of the data is required. Finally, investigators must report their findings on the data. Adams believes using these three basic steps can help uncover a digital forensics process model that can be used across all fields.
Digital Forensics and Crime
Digital forensics is a branch of forensic science encompassing the recovery and investigation of material found in digital devices, often in relation to computer crime (Digital Forensics). The role of computer forensics in crime has advanced to evidentiary admission in a court of law. This is very important in how the evidence is maintained and collected and it has become quite a precise process in law enforcement. Demand is high for expertise in computer forensics.
Digital forensics have been progressively increasing in credibility as evidence in a court of law. How the evidence is collected and maintained is greatly contributed to how the evidence is perceived in court. Law enforcement has made it a primary concern to maintain the collected evidence in the same condition it was collected (Computer Forensics and Crime Investigators). Expertise in the area of digital forensics is in high demand for preservation and collection of evidence.
As seen in the Figure 2 “Cybercrime: Top 20 Countries”, several countries are experiencing cybercrimes, as the use of technology is abundant and common, meaning numerous people have access to everything online. The role of digital forensics in crime will steadily increase in demand simply because of the need for assistance in retrieving information that can be used as evidence is getting more difficult for law enforcement. Currently, this growing field of study demands more IT professionals and will continue to rise in need of experts in data retrieval for law enforcement (Computer Forensics and Crime Investigators). Digital forensic investigators specialize in recovering, analyzing, and presenting data from computers for use in the investigative process (Role of Computer Forensics in Crime). After gathering this information, they will keep the substantial portions of evidence and present their findings in court. Some of the substantial evidence will most likely include intrusions into computer systems, recovered data from encrypted or erased files, recovered emails and deleted passwords, harassing emails, and illegal downloading of copyrighted material (Role of Computer Forensics in Crime).
In a court of law, the evidence gathered in digital forensics faces rigorous standards to remain credible. Digital forensic investigators face challenges such as accusations of duplicating or preserving evidence to inherently change the data, digital timestamps being absent when presenting the evidence they have collected, spoofing timestamps in their favor, and repeatedly confirming that an action produced a result which can be difficult when dealing with digital forensics (Role of Computer Forensics in Crime). The National Institute of Standards and Technology have made efforts to use forensic techniques to respond to incidents. By doing this, digital forensic investigators will be allowed to sharpen their techniques through increased experience in the field. It will also allow them to build a more solid argument against the defendant in court.
The goal of a digital forensics expert is to preserve any evidence in its most original form while performing a structured investigation by collecting, identifying, and validating the digital information for the purpose of reconstructing past events (Role of Computer Forensics in Crime).
A high-profile murder case, Dennis Rader (also known as the BTK Killer) had digital forensic evidence used against him in his trial which was discovered after a search of his home (Role of Computer Forensics in Crime). This shows that digital forensics, though held to a rigorous standard, can be used as legitimate evidence against someone in court.
Forensic Accounting
A rapidly growing industry in digital forensics is the field of forensic accounting. Forensic accounting was introduced to the legal world in the 1800s when they started using accountants as credible witnesses in court cases (History of Forensic Accounting). Forensic accounting uses skills such as auditing procedures, finance, quantitative methods, and research to help with a number of civil matters. The field has evolved since the past and now focuses on encompassing the skills of a typical accountant, but combines them with several other unique qualities.
There are two different areas that are encompassed within forensic accounting: litigation support and investigation. The litigation support provides the knowledge of the courtroom, which keep them apart from the typical accountant, while the investigation side provides the knowledge to determine whether criminal matters have occurred in a situation (Crain, et al 4). For instance, forensic accountants are expected to engage in criminal and civil disputes that may be brought into the courtroom, and the accountant is expected to know how to prepare and present a case. This may involve serving as an expert witness or as a non-testifying expert (What does a Forensic Accountant do?). The accountant is also able to quantify damages that were sustained by all parties involved in the dispute, and assist in resolving the dispute to prevent further unnecessary action. As for the investigation portion, the accountant will have to serve as a consultant in cases that do not involve actual litigation, but do not perform analyses or investigations that the litigation portion would usually do. These would be situations where such things as employee theft, identity theft, or insurance fraud have occurred (Crain, et al 4). These two branches of forensic accounting lay out the foundation of the field and allow those who wish to take part in it to discover what skill sets and experiences they need to gain to become better at the job.
Possible professional opportunities that may arise from studying and working in the field of forensic accounting would be in such areas as investigative services, fraud risk management, expert consulting, and expert testimony. As mentioned before, litigation and investigative services are the crucial areas of forensic accounting, and the cases that can arise can include such things as fraud, public corruption, or money laundering (Crain, et al 9). Because of their field, forensic accounts end up experienced in investigating fraud and understand many fraud schemes (Crain, et al 9), and as a result, they can identify fraud risks and can recommend ways to prevent and/or detect fraud. In expert consulting, forensic accountants are reliable in their advice on a huge range of areas, including fraud risk, mitigation, or the value of an estate (Crain, et al 10). Qualified forensic accountants are also able to act as a testifying expert in virtually any area of forensic accounting (What does a Forensic Accountant do?), meaning they are permitted to give opinions on an issue that normal fact witnesses would not be allowed to provide. All these possibilities arise from the experience and knowledge that comes with being a forensic accountant, so the field is more expansive than it appeared originally and provides much more opportunities to those looking in or already are in the field.
These professional opportunities come from different employers such as lawyers, insurance companies, financial Institutions, and businesses or corporations. Each of these use forensic accountants for several civil or criminal matters. Lawyers use forensic accountants to help with client’s cases like personal injury, family law, and money laundering (Forensic Accounting). Insurance companies use forensic accountants to handle cases like embezzlement and insurance fraud (Forensic Accounting). Financial institutions, like banks, use forensic accountants to help with matters like financial statement fraud or bank fraud (Forensic Accounting). Businesses or corporations use forensic accountants to address and prevent matters relating to employee theft or embezzlement and business valuation (Forensic Accounting). For the forensic accountant to do their job properly, they need to rely on digital forensics to assist them in handling the number of matters that are presented to them.
Forensic accountants use digital forensics to uncover the tracks of criminal matters and delves into software and data in order to find crucial mishaps or unnoticed changes. To do so, accountants must understand accounting software in order to locate and analyze any necessary electronic evidence. Forensic accountants must also be able to explain the significance of any misleading accounting entries that were found so that all the people who are working on case or the members of the courtroom may understand what exactly is being told to them. In most cases, forensic accountants will also be questioned and cross-examined when giving their report, so the evidence that was gathered and presented should be relevant to the case and be clearly spoken. This means that the accountant should have an in-depth understanding of the digital evidence to assure that every member of the audience is aware of what exactly has happened, how it occurred, and possibly how crucial the damages or violation was.
Conclusion
Digital forensics is an important and growing field that will not be dwindling anytime soon, and several professional fields have evolved to incorporate it. Since it became a science in the 1970s, digital forensics has evolved substantially to meet current technological standards. The wide range of the field has allowed the development of many digital forensic processes, but the search for standardization continues. The crime field has expanded to over the Internet, and a drastic rise in online criminal activities have been occurring. However, the use of technology is also making it easier to locate evidence. In relation to crime, forensic accounting incorporates digital forensics to help handle a variety of cases- from fraud to family law, and uses a combination of technology and accounting to solve technological crimes. Digital forensics shows itself in not only differents fields, but on multiple levels, and it only will continue to become more complex and technical as technology evolves.