Digital forensics is a branch of forensic science that includes the recovery, investigation and analysis of data found on digital devices such as computers, smartphones and media storage devices in such a manner that the results will be allowed to be entered as evidence in a court of law. In the private sector, it can be used to discover the nature and extent of an unauthorized network intrusion.
One goal is to preserve evidence in its most original form while performing a structured investigation. The process often includes the seizure, forensic imaging, and analysis of digital media, and the production of a report on the findings. This structured investigation needs to maintain a documented chain of evidence and hence required best forensic video analysis software to find out exactly what happened on a computing device and who was responsible for it.
There also needs to be a clear chain of custody for confidence that the data has not been tampered with or compromised. Data gathering incorrectly done can alter or corrupt the data being collected, rendering it useless to the investigation.
The first step is to preserve the crime scene by making a copy of all memory and hard disks. This preserves the state of the device and allows it to be put back into use. After the data is preserved, the investigation for evidence can commence.
A computer forensics expert must show skills and experience by earning at least one of the major certifications in computer forensics. A competent examiner can recover deleted files, analyze Internet data to determine websites that were visited from a certain computer even in when the browser history and cache may have been deleted.
