In today’s generation, crimes are not just limited to streets, they are also done online. These online crimes are known as digital crimes and include identity theft, hacking or online fraud. When these incidents come up, experts use Cyber Forensic Investigation for finding out what actually happened, who did it and how it happened. Cyber forensics is also termed as digital forensics. It is the process of collecting the evidence, analyzing it and preserving or maintaining it. It is a necessary part of cyber security and helps in solving a lot of cyber crimes.
What Methods are Used in Cyber Forensic Investigation?
Here are the following key methods used in Cyber Forensic Investigation:
1. Collection of Data
The first and the most important step is to collect all the evidences. These data or evidence can be collected from computers, laptops, mobile phones, tablets, cloud storage, emails and many more. The evidence must be collected properly for avoidance of any kind of damage. Professionals like Cybersics Cyber Forensic Services use special forensic tools to make the copies of the original data.
2. Maintenance of the Evidence
Digital evidence is fragile i.e. it can be deleted or damaged very easily. This is why maintaining it properly is a key part of cyber forensic investigation. Here are some of the following preservation methods:
- Generate hash values
- Chain of the custody documentation
- Storing or saving the backup copies
Proper maintenance ensures that the evidence is reliable and can be used in the organization.
3. Data Recovery
In many cases of cyber crimes, the criminals delete or wipe off the data. In this case, cyber forensic experts use the recovery techniques of data for finding and restoring the deleted files, corrupted data, hidden files etc. This helps the investigators in finding those clues which the criminal thought they had wiped off.
4. Analyze the data
Once the data is recollected and recovered, it is analyzed. This step helps the investigation to find the clues or evidence. Investigators look for IP Addresses which shows who accessed the system, login attempts, browsing history and many more. There are chances they may check how the system was accessed or what data was taken or damaged and how the attack happened. Analysis helps the investigators to clearly build the picture of what actually happened.
5. Network Forensics
Many cyber crimes happen over the internet travelling across all the networks. Network Forensics monitors and analyze the traffic of network for detecting:
- Hacking Attempts
- Data Leaks and many more.
6. Analysis for Malware Attack
If malware is found on any system, investigators perform the analysis for malware attack for understanding:
- What the malware does
- How it got loaded
- What damage it did
- From where it came and many more.
However, there are two types of malware analysis: Static Analysis and Dynamic Analysis.
7. Creation of a Detailed Report
After the process of investigation is done, a detailed report is created which includes:
- What happened during the cyber crime incident
- What evidence was found
- What actions were taken and many more.
This report is also used in court if any legal action is taken against the criminal. A great documentation will be required for proving the case and for preventing such kinds of attacks in future.
8. Presenting Evidence in Court
In case any cyber crime goes to the court, the case should be presented very carefully. The investigators may be asked some following questions from the court:
- Prove that the data is not changed
- Show that they used the legal methods or not.
For proving evidence in court, one requires technical skills and also the ability to communicate difficult things in an easy way.
Conclusion
Cyber Forensic Investigation is a necessary part of cyber security. By using the methods described above, one can understand what methods are used in cyber forensic investigation and how these methods can help the investigators. The main aim of cyber forensic investigation is to find out the truth and keep the digital world secure and safe