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Every day people are logging on to computers, or using their mobile phones, satellite navigation and MP3 players. However, not all of these people are using them for all the right reasons. Electronic devices that work with digital information have the potential to save information within their memory and onto hard drives and memory cards. This makes it possible to find relevant data that can prove or disprove any suspicions of digital misuse and can even be used as evidence within a legal case. Computer and mobile phone forensic experts understand the strategies of extracting the data that could be used as evidence within a legal situation. However, this delicate process needs to be done with care, and the less a computer or mobile phone can be used, the better the trail is to find suspect files. The crucial starting-point for this is known as the forensic imaging process. This is the extraction of data as an exact replica of the information stored on the hard drive, or within any other type of memory. It means that computer forensics processes can then be applied to that forensic copy of the hard drive rather than looking for evidence on the original computer. Using a forensic write blocker, none of the original files are altered when copying this data to the forensic image, ahead of an analyst searching through files and folders. Of course, as with anything in computer forensics, this is not a simple technique, and should be left to the experts. “Traditional” copying and pasting of files, as we all do when using a computer, can change data, which is why it is essential that sensitive potential evidence is properly imaged. It is also something which must only be performed by someone with the appropriate training, accreditation and expertise in forensic data extraction. If there are any suspicions of computer misuse, or even criminal acts via mobile phones, there are experts who can help and make sure that if there is evidence is to be found, they will find it.
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