2.1 Crime Acquisition

Crime Scene

The environment where evidence can potentially exist

Primary Crime Scene vs. Secondary crime scene

The environment where the first criminal act occurred is the PRIMARY physical crime scene,

subsequent scenes are SECONDARY physical crime scenes

Digital Crime Scene

The electronic environment in which digital evidence can potentially exist

Evidence

Physical objects that establish that a crime has been committed can provide a link between a crime and its victim, or can provide a link between a crime and the perpetrator

Digital Evidence

digital evidence linking that crime has been committed can provide a link between a crime and its victim, or can provide a link between a crime and the perpetrator

Types of digital forensic services

Mobile Device Forensics

video and audio forensics

computer storage analysis

code and software analysis

internet of things

digital image analysis

drone investigation

AI content detection

Investigation Phases

1. Recognition: potential digital evidence

2. Documentation: chain of custody

3. Collection and Preservation: forensically sound acquisition

4. Identification: basic characteristics

5. Comparison: against known standards

6. Individualization: unique characteristics of evidence

7. Evaluation & Interpretation: significance and reliability

8. Reconstruction: coherent timeline

9. Report: final documentation presented to legal team

Evidence must have what characteristics in order to be acquired?

1. Admissible- must be able to be used in court

2. Authentic- must be proven to be what it claims to be

3. Complete- cannot be taken out of context

4. Reliable- collected trustworthily

Chain of custody

Documented record that tracks every person/action/location associated with evidence from when its collected till presentation in court (aka what you did with the evidence)

Privacy Laws

GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation): Protects the personal data of individuals in the EU Applies even if the examiner or company is outside the EU.

HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act): Protects medical and health-related data in the U.S. Applies to hospitals, clinics, insurance providers, and their systems