The Advantages and Disadvantages of Computer Forensics
Computer forensics has become an important of litigation. Computers have become an important part of your lives. This does not exclude criminals who have the technical know how of hacking into computer network systems. Electronic evidence has played a role in court but obtaining can be difficult.
There have been issues of authenticity concerned with this type of evidence. Nonetheless it still used today with the help of legal standards to make them admissible in court. Computer forensics is beneficial but it also has disadvantages.
Computers are the most dominant form of technology. It has been used in variety of purposes which has made digital and electronic evidence important. However there are still setbacks to this field.
Pros and Cons
The exchange of information is taking place everyday over the internet. Although this may be convenient for us, it can also pose as an opportunity for criminals. Phishing, corporate fraud, intellectual property disputes, theft, breach of contract and asset recovery are some of the situations wherein computer forensics can be used.
Apart from the technical aspect, legal issues are also involved. Computer forensic analysts make their investigation in such a way that the electronic evidence will be admissible in court.
There are advantages and disadvantages when it comes to computer forensics. This field is relatively new and criminal matters usually dealt with physical evidences. This makes electronic evidence something very new. Fortunately it has been a helpful tool wherein important data needed for a case that has been lost, deleted or damaged can be retrieved.
Computer forensics’ main advantage is its ability to search and analyze a mountain of data quickly and efficiently. They can search keywords in a hard drive in different languages which is beneficial since cyber crimes can easily cross borders through the internet.
Valuable data that has been lost and deleted by offenders can be retrieved which becomes substantial evidence in court. Legal professionals are able to produce data in court that were previously impossible.
The first setback when using electronic or digital evidence is making it admissible in court. Data can be easily modified. Analyst must be bale to fully comply with standards of evidence required in the court of law. The computer forensic analyst must show that the data is tampered.
His or her own investigation must also be fully documented and accounted for. Computer forensics must also training of legal standard procedures when handling evidence.
The main disadvantage is the cost of when retrieving data. Computer forensic experts hire per hour. Analysis and reporting of data can take as long as 15 hours but it will also depend on the nature of the case. Another one is that when retrieving data, analyst may inadvertently disclose privilege documents.
Legal practitioners involved in the case must also have knowledge of computer forensics. If not they will not be able to cross examine an expert witness. This also applies to the judge, solicitors and barristers. Computer forensics is still fairly new and some may not understand it. The analyst must be able to communicate his findings in a way that everyone will understand.
Although computer forensics has its disadvantage, this can be solved by the party involved. Evidence on the other hand can only be captured once. The use of computers and the rise of cyber crimes also call for an equally high the method of stopping it.