Computer forensics

Computer

Forensics

LALIT GARG 3610109

CSE-2NDYEAR

IndexWhat is Computer ForensicsObjective of Computer ForensicsWhy Computer ForensicsHistory of Computer ForensicsHow it approachesSteps of InvestigationWhat not to do during InvestigationComputer Forensics Techniques

IndexAnti-ForensicsComputer Forensics ToolsAdvantages of Computer ForensicsDisadvantages of Computer ForensicsConclusions

What is Computer Forensics

Computer forensics is considered to be the use of analytical and investigative techniques to identify, collect, examine and preserve evidence/information which is magnetically stored or encoded

Objective of Computer Forensics

Usually to provide digital evidence of aspecific or general activity

Why Computer Forensics?

- Employee internet abuse- Unauthorized disclosure of corporate information and data - Industrial espionage - Damage assessment - Criminal fraud and deception cases - More general criminal cases- and countless others!

History of Computer Forensics Bankruptcy in Enron in December 2001 Hundreds of employees were left jobless while some

executives seemed to benefit from the company's collapse.

The United States Congress decided to investigate and A specialized detective force began to search through hundreds of Enron employee computers using computer forensics.

How it approaches?

-Secure the subject system (from tampering during the operation)-Take a copy of hard drive (if applicable)-Identify and recovery all files (including those deleted)- Access/copy hidden, protected and temporary files-Study 'special' areas on the drive (eg: residue from previously deleted files)- Investigate data/settings from installed applications/programs

How it approaches….cont

-Assess the system as a whole, including its structure- Consider general factors relating to the users activity- Create detailed report. Throughout the investigation, it is important to stress that a full audit log of your activities should be maintained.

Steps of Investigation

Secure the computer system to ensure that the equipment and data are safe

Find every file on the computer system Recover as much deleted information as possible using

applications Reveal the contents of all hidden files with programs

designed to detect the presence of hidden data Decrypt and access protected files

Cont…

Analyze special areas of the computer's disks Document every step of the procedure Be prepared to testify in court as an expert

witness in computer forensics

What should not be done during investigation?

-Avoid changing date/time stamps (of files for example) or changing data itself-Overwriting of unallocated space (which can happen on re-boot for example). 'Study don't change' is a useful catch-phrase.

Computer Forensics Technique Cross-Drive Analysis(CDA)

Live Analysis

Deleted File Analysis

Anti-Forensics : The Nightmare Programmers design anti-forensic tools to make it hard

or impossible to retrieve information during an investigation

Dozens of ways people can hide information

Anti-Forensics…..contd. Some programs can fool computers by changing the

information in files' headers Programs can divide files up into small sections and

hide each section at the end of other files Programs called packers can insert executable files into

other kinds of files Encryption is another way to hide data Changing the metadata attached to files Some computer applications will erase data if an

unauthorized user tries to access the system

Computer Forensics Tools

Disk imaging software Software or hardware write tools Hashing tools File recovery programs Programs to preserve information in RAM Encryption decoding software Password cracking software

Advantages of Computer Forensics

Ability to search through a massive amount of data

Quickly Thoroughly In any language

Disadvantages of Computer Forensics

Digital evidence accepted into court must prove that there is no

tampering all evidence must be fully

accounted for computer forensic specialists

must have complete knowledge of legal requirements, evidence handling and storage and

documentation procedures

Disadvantages of Computer Forensics

Costsproducing electronic records & preserving them is

extremely costly

Presents the potential for exposing privileged documents

Legal practitioners must have extensive computer knowledge

Conclusion

With computers becoming more and more involved in our everyday lives, both professionally and socially, there is a need for computer forensics. This field will enable crucial electronic evidence to be found, whether it was lost, deleted, damaged, or hidden, and used to prosecute individuals that believe they have successfully beaten the system.

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