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Digital Forensics Investigation: An Overview of Processes and Branches

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This article provides a breakdown of digital forensics. It covers the steps involved in a digital forensics investigation and highlights the various branches within the field.

As crime continues to rise globally, criminals are increasingly leveraging digital technologies to perpetrate their offenses. This makes it vital to stay informed about the latest digital technologies, cyber tools, hacking techniques and software, digital storage devices, and communication methods (e.g., email, SMS, MMS, and social networking sites). Having this knowledge in advance is crucial for effective digital forensics.

The term “digital forensics” can be defined as the “science of collecting and analyzing evidence available in digital form.”

Wikipedia offers a similar definition: “a branch of forensic science encompassing the recovery and investigation of material found in digital devices, often in relation to computer related crimes.”

Digital Forensics Investigation Steps

digital forensics investigation steps

Figure 1: Steps involved in a digital forensics investigation

Figure 1 illustrates the typical steps involved in a digital forensics investigation, focusing on the collection and analysis of digital evidence. These steps are generally categorized into three main stages:

  • Acquisition: This involves gathering electronic evidence. This process is also known as disk imaging or acquiring evidence.

  • Analysis of Data: In this stage, the collected evidence is analyzed using various forensic tools and algorithms. The analysis is based upon the nature of the collected evidence.

  • Reporting: Once the forensic investigation is complete, the findings are presented in a written report. This report details the evidence found and the conclusions drawn from the analysis.

Branches of Digital Forensics

digital forensics branches

Digital Forensics Branches

Digital forensics encompasses several specialized branches, including:

  • Computer Forensics: Focuses on recovering and analyzing data from computers and storage devices.
  • Network Forensics: Deals with monitoring and analyzing network traffic to identify security incidents and gather evidence.
  • Mobile Forensics: Involves the examination of mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets, to retrieve data.
  • Live Forensics: Deals with the collection of data from a live system, preserving volatile data before the system is shut down.
  • Database Forensics: Focuses on analyzing databases to uncover evidence of tampering, fraud, or other malicious activities.

RF and Wireless Terminologies

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