The Basics of Digital Forensics: Why Digital Forensics Is Important in Investigations

It’s seems hard to believe a time before iPhones existed, but in truth they hit the scene in 2007. Prior to then, one could make the argument that digital forensics as a discipline wasn’t critical to criminal and other investigations, although it did play a role in many high profile cases. But that is not an argument anyone would advance today.

The last 15 years have seen an explosion of digital technology. Where a crime scene or other investigation before then might have involved a single desktop computer at a home, today investigators might recover multiple smartphones, laptops, tablets, and wearable devices in one fell swoop. All those devices could contain evidence that must be analyzed to make decisions assessing possible suspects, whether to charge them with a crime, and to build a compelling case for prosecutors.

Download this chapter of the Basics of Digital Forensics to learn:

• Why digital forensic investigations are so vital to criminal investigations
• How digital forensics can help establish criminals' identity, motivations, preparation, and more
• What the three Cs of digital forensics are and how investigators must follow them