Digital forensics

Forensics is identifying, investigating and collecting evidence in a scene of crime. The information collected is then used for legal purposes. We extend this to ‘Digital forensics’ which again deals with identifying and investigating information but is now related to digital media. Professionals who are engaged in the ‘digital forensics’ field, recover information collected from digital devices such as pen drives, laptops, mobile phones which can be used to solve various crimes.
Thus,  ‘Digital Forensics’ is the art of identifying, collecting and studying digital and computer evidence which can be used in the court of law. Forensics is related to law and therefore ‘Digital Forensics’ is related to analyzing digital data and presenting them as evidence in legal matters. There are several sub-disciplines within ‘Digital forensics’ namely computer forensics, network forensics, mobile device forensics and more.

‘Digital Forensics’ may be used in cases where there are issues related to copyright infringement, piracy, destruction of information and fraud.  In India – there is always the case of question paper leak before any major exam and it is possible that ‘digital forensics’ can be used to find the source of the paper leak!
Skills required to get into the ‘digital forensics’ domain:
Along with basic communication skills, analytical skills, and a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or Information security will always be good starting point. In addition, it would be good to acquire one or more of the following certifications:

1. GCFA (GIAC Certified Forensic Analyst)
2. GCFE (GIAC Certified Forensic Examiner)
3. CHFI (EC-Council Computer Hacking Forensic Investigator) 

This post is for alphabet ‘D’ of #BlogchatterA2Z. The previous post can be found here.