Forensic Tools Computer-Based Forensics Tools

Forensic Tools

Computer-Based Forensics Tools and Criminal Justice

On any given day, millions of dollars in corporate or stock ownership may be lost or compromised due to hacker attacks that breach security barriers, disrupt functionality or violate confidential information. This constitutes a problematic criminal element that impacts areas as important as national security, financial stability and commercial integrity through the internet. As a result, criminal justice agencies concerned with the gathering of intelligence have come to rely increasingly on the evolution of computer-based forensics tools that can help to gather information and data on costly or criminal hacker attacks.

Among them, one example is "Helix 3, a newly updated version of the live Linux forensics tool, can be used to examine the disk safely to see what has been finally changed. Forensics of a system is critical to know what has been compromised. It is one thing to know if we've been attacked but it's another to find out what those attackers have done to the system." (Borque, 1) This is a powerful diagnostic tool that is enhancing law enforcement capabilities. Perhaps the strongest critique that one can raise about such tools is that they tend to be cost prohibitive and therefore truly only available to larger organizations. Local and state law enforcement agencies are far less likely to have access to this type of diagnostic technology than are federal agencies. This constitutes a disadvantage for local groups and small companies in terms of protecting themselves from or pursuing those that would use computer-based methods to penetrate their security or compromise their operation.

Another area in which forensics technology is becoming an increasingly important way to address criminal investigation is that relating to mobile technology. The cellular phone, handheld web device or laptop computer has proven an extremely way to divulge considerable information relating to the communication activities, financial transactions and geographical whereabouts of persons of interest to a criminal probe. It is thus that technologies which work to yield that crucial data from the memory store of any such device have become so valuable to law enforcement in the age of terrorism. According to the Computer Forensics Tool Testing Program (CFTT), "a cellular forensic tool shall have the ability to logically acquire all application supported data elements present in internal memory without modification" (Ayers, 15)

This is to indicate that such technology should be able to hack into mobile communication devices without detection by the subject, making it a valuable tool in investigating crimes and preventing suspected crimes. The evaluate of its requirements is produced by the CFTT, which is an organization that "provides a measure of assurance that the tools used in the investigations of computer-related crimes produce valid results." (Ayers, 6)