Computer forensic services

What is Computer forensic?

Computer forensic services offer scientifically proven methods to gather, process, interpret, and to use digital evidence to provide a conclusive description of cyber crime activities.
The data interpreted has to become "human friendly", (or to demonstrate that the user was expert enough to interpret it), so it can be used in a court of law. Unlike most experts, the Forensic Analysis cannot simply give his professional opinion, but instead give a clear explanation on how he came to certain conclusions, (and what the data itself indicates).

Cyber forensics, (or computer forensic), involves many aspects of a traditional investigation.
It handles every aspects of data and media life cycle.

• Preservation
• Identification
• Extraction
• Documentation
• Interpretation
• Reconstructing Events
• Tracking internet browsing habits
• Inferring intentions

Once all the information has been gathered it is analysed to prove, (or disprove), the actions of a user/group of users.
Not every computer/digital information fall under digital evidence gathered by forensic services, the data must be able to be interpreted by a human with expertise in the subject. In other words, the evidence gathered must apply to the accusation. Finding data on a media does not necessarily mean that it was understood by the user.

But Computer forensic science is not only limited to the retrieval of evidence, it also also includes the act of making digital data suitable for inclusion into a criminal investigation.

Not all data is admissible in court, a good computer forensic services company, or computer forensic analyst, will be able to differentiate what is acceptable within the jurisdiction of the court.
In many country evidense recovered by private computer forensic services is not admissible, (in the US for example many, but not all investigations have to be handled by the FBI).
Forensic Analysis have come a long way from been a simple help to law enforcement investigations to actually securing convictions. Many law enforcement agencies and/or colleagues offer Computer forensic Services as a course.

What are Computer forensic services used for?

Wide range of computer crimes and misuses

• Non-Business Environment: evidence collected by Federal, State and local authorities for crimes relating to:
• Theft of trade secrets
• Fraud
• Extortion
• Industrial espionage
• Position of pornography
• SPAM investigations
• Virus/Trojan distribution
• Homicide investigations
• Intellectual property breaches
• Unauthorized use of personal information
• Forgery
• Perjury
• Theft of or destruction of intellectual property
• Unauthorized activity
• Missues of company bandwidth, (reselling and so forth)
• Sexual harassment
• Software Piracy

Claims made to counter Computer forensic services.

Many software claim that any evidence can be "erased", this is almost never the case. Although there is no doubt that the data will be difficult to recover and that it will be "hidden" to most users, any good company offering comprehensive computer forensic services will be able to recover the data, (and ask the question as to why an attempt was made to hide it).
For example, successfully removing data from a computer in the hope of masking browsing habits will almost never be able to clear the information contained on the ISP computer, (the computer used to connect).
This is partly why computer forensic services are so successful. Because the data is never really removed from the media, if the data can be hidden, it will be recovered. Even if the media is totally destroyed, the data can almost always be recovered, (using third party computers that came in contact with the media).

It is only a matter of time, commitment and available funds.

Example of forensic services

• Recovering "deleted" emails
• Performing investigation even if the system has already been used by multiple users.
• Performing investigation post employment termination
• Recovering evidence after a hard drive has been formatted.
• Wrongful dismissal claims
• insurance claims verifications.

Mobile phone forensics is also a science performed by many computer forensic services, retrieving data from a mobile phone. This includes full data retrieval and examination of data found on the SIM/USIM cards, the phone body itself and the optional memory cards.
Data retrieved and examined can include images, videos, text or SMS messages, call times and contact numbers.