Digital Forensics - 4.8
Summary
Digital forensics involves the collection, preservation, and analysis of digital data for legal proceedings. Key concepts include legal hold, which preserves data for future investigations; chain of custody, ensuring data integrity; acquisition, gathering data from devices; reporting, documenting findings; and e-discovery, collecting electronically stored information (ESI) without performing forensic analysis.
Notes:
Legal Hold
- A legal request to preserve a specific amount and type of data to ensure it is maintained for future legal proceedings or investigations.
Chain of Custody
- A documented process that tracks the handling and transfer of data throughout the forensics process to maintain its integrity and authenticity.
Acquisition
- The process of obtaining data from various sources, such as computers, mobile devices, or network logs, for forensic analysis.
Reporting
- The process of generating documentation related to the data acquisition, including the circumstances leading to the forensic investigation and the analysis performed.
Preservation
- Ensuring the proper storage of collected data in a manner that maintains its integrity, including considerations for the amount, type, and format of the data.
E-discovery
- The process of gathering electronically stored information (ESI) required for legal proceedings, without performing forensic analysis on the data itself.
- Example: This may involve collecting data from a device and providing it to a forensic expert for further investigation.
Questions
- E-Discovery vs Acquisition
- E-discovery focuses on gathering relevant data for legal review, while Acquisition is a forensically sound process for collecting data for deeper forensic analysis. E-discovery is typically used early in the legal process, and acquisition is used when exact, unaltered copies of data are needed for investigation.