Trends and Future Directions
Key Concepts:
  • Technology trends and their impact on forensics
  • Legal and procedural changes in forensics
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
  • Understand how increasing computer power affects forensics
  • Understand the impact of new technology on forensics
  • Investigate methods for extracting evidence from new technology
  • Understand how new laws affect evidence collection
The field of digital forensics is changing rapidly. Not only is the underlying technology advancing, the legal environment and forensics techniques are evolving as well. The successful digital forensics specialist stays abreast of the latest trends and understands what they mean for computer forensics.
DISCOVER
APPLY
CREATE
CONCEPTS
PROCESS
ROLES
CONTEXT
RATIONALE
HANDS-ON LAB
CHALLENGE
CONTRIBUTING FACTORS
COURSE OF ACTION

In this section, you will examine the concepts, processes, roles, and context of issues faced by computer forensic specialists on a daily basis, and learn why certain decisions are made in the real workplace.

Concepts: Before you can perform any task, you need to understand critical concepts being used in the computer forensics world. These concepts provide the relative and cumulative framework necessary for effective learning.

Process: Processes are a part of any workplace. In this section, you will learn about the processes that are a part of systems forensics, investigations, and response.

Roles: Most organizations are structured into divisions and departments (e.g. sales, finance, customer service, IT) that are dedicated to performing specific functions and staffed with personnel who have expertise in those functions.

Where different activities in a process require different skills, the process is likely to involve a number of people and departments. It is critical for you to learn who is involved in, or impacted by, computer forensics-related activities, and how individuals in those roles communicate and collaborate with computer forensics specialists.

Context: Computer forensics is carried out in a technical context to discover and preserve evidence for legal use. This section of the lesson will help you understand the technical information you need to know to be a successful computer forensics specialist.

Rationale: This section of the lesson will help you with “Why?” questions. The objective in computer forensics is to recover, analyze, and present computer-based material in such a way that it can be used as evidence in a court of law. Ability to formulate a rationale, or reasoning, behind computer forensic activities that can be understood by lay persons in a court is a critical competency for computer forensic specialists. In this section, you will learn how computer forensic specialists make decisions and explain their actions.

The Concept of Moore’s Law
Think about your first computer or cell phone and compare it to the one you are using now. Chances are that your current computer or phone is more powerful, is much faster, has more capabilities, and is better in so many ways than the first one you had. Technology changes quickly. But notice that the price does not go up proportionally. Your first computer may have actually cost more than your current one.

In 1965, Gordon E. Moore, cofounder of Intel, discussed this phenomenon in a paper. The trend for technology to improve while prices decrease is summed up by Moore’s law. Click on each question below to learn more about Moore’s law.
  • What is Moore’s law?
  • How does Moore’s law apply to digital forensics?
The Emergence of New Devices
Not only are computers advancing and becoming more powerful every year, new devices continue to emerge. Any new computing device will most likely be the target of a forensic investigation eventually. A few newer devices are listed below. Click on each device to learn more. Next, click the ACTIVITY button to complete a brief exercise.
  • Google Glass
  • GPS devices
  • Medical devices that communicate data
The Investigator’s Role in Understanding New Developments in Computing
Two developments are changing the way people use their computers. Digital investigators must be aware of and ready to respond to these changes in their investigations. Click on each development to learn more. Next, click the ACTIVITY button to complete a brief exercise.
  • Software as a Service
  • The cloud
How Certain Trends Affect Forensics
Computer capabilities are constantly evolving and expanding. Digital forensics specialists must be aware of new developments so that they can modify their techniques accordingly. Click each of the following trends to learn more about how they affect forensics.
  • Increasing computing power
  • Cloud computing
The Legal and Procedural Trends Affecting Forensics
A number of trends can affect how digital evidence is collected and processed. Click on each topic to learn more. Next, click the ACTIVITY button to complete a brief exercise.
  • Changes in the law
  • Private labs
  • International issues
  • Techniques

In this section, you will have an opportunity to practice the concepts and processes that you have explored in this lesson.

The Hands-On Lab provides you with an engaging learning experience that is diagnostic and flexible. Following the instructions provided in the Lab Manual, you will be able to practice the steps computer forensics specialists perform on a daily basis and develop the skills required for effective execution and management of computer forensics.

In this section, you will have an opportunity to apply what you have learned in this lesson. A scenario is provided here that depicts the challenges often faced by professionals in the workplace.

You will explore the scenario, review related critical information, research a topic, and present your findings. Complete your work by submitting the graded assignment.

You are an experienced digital forensics specialist for DigiFirm Investigation Company.

You receive a phone call from Chris, your team leader.

Hello. Chris here.

You may have heard that our biggest client, Major Corporation, is evaluating how they back up their data. I need you to write a paper that compares traditional backup methods to those provided by a cloud service provider, including the security of cloud services versus traditional forms of onsite and offsite backup.

We’ve got a meeting set up with them next week to talk about their options and I’d you like to present your paper at that meeting. Let me know what you come up with.

Contributing Factors

Companies have traditionally backed up their data using storage area networks and off-site backup networks. The next generation of data storage security is backing up data in a cloud.

Research both traditional and cloud data backup methods. Then write a paper that compares the two. Make sure that you include the security of cloud services versus traditional forms of onsite and offsite backup.

For a checklist of action items, navigate to Course of Action on the right panel of the screen.

Use the following checklist as a guide to complete this assignment. Note that the tasks you have completed are already checked on the list.

Tasks

  • Read the verbiage of the phone call from your team leader.
  • Consider all the factors that contribute to the challenge.
  • Conduct Internet research on traditional data backup methods as well as backing up data in a cloud.
  • Write a paper that compares traditional data backup methods with backing up data in a cloud,including the security of cloud services versus traditional forms of onsite and offsite backup.