Data Doctor Recovery

The Digital Age is now upon us. Digital television, digital music and films are starting to become more and more prominent. The convenience of the digital medium for storing and moving data from friend to friend and country to country is now so easy and of course, fast. It is difficult in this day and age to imagine a world that existed without mobile phones or email.

With this new technology there does come some negative side effects though. One such effect is the rise in computer crime. Criminal use of computers for some will have seemed almost inevitable. Fraud and identity theft have hit the news in recent times, but the problem can and does tend to go a lot further.

Computer misuse and digital crime can take many forms. Identity theft, fraud and theft from online banking accounts are common and the devices used range from laptops and mobile phones, to video games consoles and memory sticks. As the data is digital it is easy to move and copy from device to device.

There are forensic methods available that are used and carried out by digital forensics experts that result in the searching of digital devices for illegal data. This digital evidence can take the form of data that has been deleted from the host machine, or files that have been encrypted with a security algorithm. The advanced techniques used by the forensic professionals are more powerful than off the shelf data recovery programs and are capable of searching deeper than many people would think possible.

The data that is recovered is usually documented under strict conditions so that it may be used in court or as part of an employment tribunal case. Digital forensic professionals will usually be aware of the preferred format for the type of case that is being investigated and prepare all of the evidence to suit. No data on the original computer will be touched by an investigator; they will usually map the drive to an external machine and work from there so as not to corrupt any of the original evidence.

Computer crime is evolving as fast as the technology available and so are the techniques being used to counter act it. This area of forensic science is constantly moving, new advanced techniques being developed to not only keep up with existing technology, but to also be ready for new devices that are hitting the market every day.

If you are interested in computer forensics visit the CY4OR UK website and take a look at their blog.