The History of Forensic Science
The History of Forensic Science
ancient practices to the sophisticated techniques used today. Here’s a brief overview:
Ancient Beginnings
China: In the 13th century, Song Ci wrote "Washing Away of Wrongs," which
detailed methods for investigating deaths and collecting evidence.
Europe: During the Renaissance, medical practitioners like Ambroise Paré began
studying corpses to understand causes of death.
Fingerprints: The use of fingerprints for identification began in the 19th century,
with pioneers like Henry Faulds and William Herschel.
Forensic Pathology: The field of forensic pathology emerged, focusing on
determining the cause of death through medical examination.
Edmond Locard: Known as the "Sherlock Holmes of France," Locard established the
principle of "every contact leaves a trace," which is fundamental to modern forensic
science.
Advancements in Technology: The 20th century saw significant advancements in
forensic science, including DNA analysis, toxicology, and digital forensics
Cyber forensics is an essential tool in the fight against cybercrime, helping to uncover and
prosecute digital offenses while ensuring the integrity and reliability of digital evidence.
Email forensics involves analyzing emails to gather evidence for investigations. Key
techniques include:
1. Email Header Analysis: Examines metadata in the email header to trace the sender,
recipient, and path the email took.
2. Email Server Investigation: Analyzes server logs to identify the origin of emails.
3. Content Analysis: Reviews the content of emails for relevant information.
Digital Forensics Life Cycle:
The chain of custody is crucial in digital forensics to ensure the integrity of evidence. It
involves:
Network Forensics:
Social media forensics is a specialized branch of digital forensics that focuses on collecting,
analyzing, and preserving digital evidence from social media platforms. This field has
become increasingly important due to the widespread use of social media and the rise of
online crimes such as cyberbullying, identity theft, and online harassment1.
1. Identification: The first step is to identify the relevant social media platforms or
accounts related to the investigation. This involves gathering information from
witnesses, suspects, and other sources1.
2. Collection: Once identified, digital evidence is collected from the pertinent social
media accounts and platforms. This includes extracting data from posts, comments,
messages, photos, videos, and location tags1.
3. Preservation: The collected evidence is preserved in a forensically sound manner to
ensure its admissibility in court. This involves taking care to prevent alteration or
tampering during the extraction process1.
4. Analysis: The preserved digital evidence is analyzed to extract valuable information.
Techniques such as metadata analysis, keyword searches, user profiling, and network
analysis are used to uncover relevant details1.
5. Presentation: The findings are documented and presented in a clear and concise
manner to support legal cases or investigations.
Social media forensics is crucial for investigating and prosecuting online crimes. It helps
confirm witness testimony, identify suspects, and determine a person's behaviors,
preferences, and connections during an investigation1. Additionally, it serves as a preventive
tool to safeguard individuals and organizations from potential threats.
Various tools and techniques are used in social media forensics, including:
WebPreserver: Captures and archives web pages and social media content.
Pipl Search: Searches for individuals across multiple social media platforms.
TinEye: Identifies duplicate images and tracks their usage across the web.
TweetBeaver: Analyzes tweets and gathers relevant information from Twitter