What Does a Digital Forensics Expert Do?
What does a digital forensics expert do? In short, this professional examines digital media and extracts evidence from it. These experts often use existing sysadmin tools such as the ssh command line tool to extract evidence. Next, you might ask: “What does a digitalforensics expert do?”
Examining digital media
To uncover evidence, professionals in forensics examine electronic media. To extract evidence, investigators used tools like the operating system to examine devices live. This method was risky because it could potentially alter or erase data, leading to claims of evidence tampering. Digital forensics experts use software and hardware that are specifically designed to analyze digital media. These are the top digital evidence reasons that digital forensics is so important.
Digital media evidence extraction
Digital forensics is the extraction of evidence from digital media such as emails, chat logs and photos, documents, and internet history. Forensic analysts can use advanced tools to recover data even from deleted files. They can retrieve information from accessible disk space, operating system cache, and deleted files. They then collate the information into reports. These reports can include audit information and metadata.
To extract evidence, you can use existing sysadmin software
Live analysis is a forensic method that examines a computer’s operating system from within it. It can use existing sysadmin tools, or a custom-made forensic tool. Live analysis is primarily used for volatile data analysis. Volatile data is stored in the device’s memory and stays in transit while it is powered on. If the computer is shut down, this information is lost forever. Therefore, live analysis is best performed while the computer is in operation.
Cybercrimes Investigation
Cybercrime investigation requires years of study. Digital forensics specialists analyze digital systems. This includes network connections, file systems and caching devices. They follow the involved trails, searching for fingerprints in system files, network logs, emails, and web browsing history. These fingerprints may include illegal or harmful activities, such as phishing and identity theft. Cyber forensics investigators also work with digital news agencies to track the perpetrators and uncover evidence.
Investigation of physical crimes
Computer forensics refers to the study of digital evidence and physical devices. These types of computer evidence can be created using scientific methods. They include the analysis of malware and the payload responsible for the attack. Digital forensics can also be used to analyze deleted emails, contacts, and calendars. Mobile devices can also be examined to retrieve deleted data and audiovisuals. Forensics investigators can also search for and identify spyware and viruses, and gather a complete picture of the device’s contents.