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Forensic Science and Digital Forensics – Simplified Overview

Forensic science applies scientific methods to answer legal questions and solve crimes.
Forensic scientists help determine:
What happened?
How did it happen?
Who was involved?
When did it occur?
They use knowledge from fields like biology, medicine, physics, geology, computer science,
and engineering to analyze evidence.
Key Concepts in Forensics
1. Locard’s Exchange Principle
“Every contact leaves a trace.” – When two objects or people come into contact, they
exchange materials. This helps connect suspects to a crime.
2. Crime Reconstruction
The process of recreating the sequence of events in a crime based on scientific analysis. A
hypothesis is tested to see if it explains the crime accurately.
3. Investigations & 5WH Method
Investigators use the 5WH formula to gather key details:
 Who – Suspects, witnesses, victims
Where – Crime scene and related locations
What – Facts of the crime
When – Timeline of events
Why – Motive behind the crime
How – How the crime was carried out
4. Evidence Dynamics
Evidence can be altered, moved, contaminated, or destroyed due to external factors.
Understanding these influences is crucial for crime scene analysis.

Digital Forensics
Digital forensics applies forensic science to digital data (computers, phones, networks). It
involves:
Preserving & collecting digital evidence
Validating & analyzing data
Reconstructing cybercrimes or security breaches
Digital forensics helps in solving cybercrimes, preventing security threats, and protecting
digital assets.

• Digital Forensics is the

preservation, identification, extraction, in terpretation and documentation of computer evidence
which can be used in the court of law.

Branches of Digital Forensics – Simplified Overview

Digital forensics is divided into several branches based on the type of device or system involved:
Computer Forensics – Investigates evidence from computers and storage devices.
Firewall Forensics – Examines firewall logs to track cyberattacks and unauthorized access.
Database Forensics – Recovers and analyzes database records to detect fraud or tampering.
Network Forensics – Monitors and captures network traffic to identify security breaches.
Forensic Data Analysis – Examines structured data (like financial records) for fraud
detection.
Mobile Forensics – Recovers and analyzes data from smartphones and tablets.
Forensic Process
Seizure – Securely collecting digital evidence.
Forensic Imaging – Creating an exact copy of data for analysis.
 Analysis – Examining digital evidence for relevant findings.
Reporting – Documenting findings in a structured report.

Crimes and Incidents in Digital Forensics – Simplified Overview

Digital forensics is used in both criminal law (for investigating crimes) and private law (for
handling legal disputes in businesses).
Law Enforcement Use – Police rely on digital forensics to collect and analyze evidence in
cybercrimes.
Corporate Use – Companies use digital forensics to investigate policy violations, fraud, or
security breaches.

Digital Crime Scenes

A digital crime or incident involves one or more digital events. The digital crime scene refers to
where the crime happened in the digital space (e.g., hacked servers, compromised accounts).
Key Components of Digital Forensics
Digital Devices – Physical objects like computers, smartphones, or even cars with digital
systems.
Digital Media – Storage components like hard drives, USBs, or memory cards inside these
devices.
Digital Data – Information stored in binary format within digital media.
Digital Objects – Specific collections of digital data that forensic analysts examine for
evidence.
Understanding these elements helps forensic experts trace cybercriminals and investigate digital
incidents effectively.

Forensic Soundness and Key Principles – Simplified

Forensically Sound Investigations – A digital investigation is considered forensically sound
if it follows proper forensic standards, principles, and procedures.
Evidence Integrity – Ensuring that evidence remains unchanged and preserved in its original
form. However, in live systems, some data changes are unavoidable, so proper documentation is
crucial.
Chain of Custody – A detailed record of how evidence is collected, handled, analyzed, and
stored to maintain its authenticity and reliability in legal proceedings.
Proper documentation and adherence to forensic principles help ensure that digital evidence is
trustworthy in court.
trustworthy in court.

Crime Reconstruction in Digital Forensics – Simplified

Crime reconstruction helps determine what happened in a digital crime by following these five
steps:
Evidence Examination – Identify and analyze relevant digital evidence.
Role Classification – Determine whether the evidence is a cause or effect of an event.
Event Construction & Testing – Identify possible events and check their feasibility.
Event Sequencing – Arrange events in chronological order.
Hypothesis Testing – Use scientific methods to confirm or reject the hypothesis.
This process helps investigators piece together digital crimes accurately.

Digital evidence refers to any electronic data that can be used to prove or disprove a fact in a
legal investigation. It is stored, transmitted, or processed in digital form and can be found on
computers, mobile devices, networks, cloud storage, and other digital platforms

Key Concepts in Digital Forensics

Layers of Abstraction:
In computing, complex details are hidden behind different layers to simplify processes. A
forensic analyst must analyze all these layers to extract digital evidence. For example, they might
examine raw binary data on a hard drive to recover a deleted email.
Metadata (Data About Data):
Metadata provides details about a file, such as when it was created, its location, and the device
used. In digital forensics, metadata can be crucial in solving cases, like identifying when and
where a photo was taken.
Error, Uncertainty, and Loss:
Digital evidence can be affected by errors, missing data, or misinterpretations. Forensic analysts
must consider these factors to avoid incorrect conclusions, which could weaken a case or lead to
wrongful convictions.
The Digital Forensics Process
Digital forensics follows a structured, iterative process to gather, analyze, and present digital
evidence while ensuring integrity.
1. Identification Phase
● Detects incidents based on complaints or alerts.
● Forms a hypothesis about what happened.
● Requires planning and deployment of tools.
● First responder (e.g., police) secures digital evidence.
● Incident location (physical or digital) is analyzed.
● Live systems (powered on) risk losing volatile data if shut down.
● Dead systems (powered off) retain stored data for later analysis (Post Mortem).
2. Collection Phase
● Involves acquiring or copying data from digital devices.
● Ensures chain of custody to maintain evidence integrity.
● Sometimes referred to as Acquisition/Extraction in technical literature.
3. Examination Phase
● Prepares collected data for analysis.
● Uses forensic tools to structure and parse raw data.
● Data formats like EnCase, SMART, AFF help maintain integrity.
● Data Recovery techniques retrieve deleted files.
● Data Reduction & Filtering removes irrelevant data to focus on evidence.
● Timestamps ensure accuracy and correlation across data sources.
● Encryption & Obfuscation techniques may require decryption for evidence analysis.
● File Carving extracts specific file types from raw data.
4. Analysis Phase
● Determines which digital objects serve as evidence.
● Supports or refutes the hypothesis of a crime or event.
● Identifies responsible persons and significance of evidence.
5. Presentation Phase
● Documents findings in a final report for court or relevant stakeholders.
● Includes:
 ● Includes:
○ Investigation roles & tasks.
○ Executive summary of evidence.
○ Chain of custody documentation.
○ Visuals (diagrams, screenshots).
○ Tools used in analysis.
○ Findings.
● Chain of Custody Circle ensures evidence remains legally valid.
This structured approach ensures digital evidence is properly handled, analyzed, and presented
for legal and investigative purposes.