Computer forensics
Recently the consultants at CBI have been receiving an increasing number of requests for computer forensics work. Simply stated, computer forensics is the art of taking information off of a computer drive or storage device, searching it, and reporting on what was found. Examples of data sources are disk drives, USB drives, CDs, floppies, etc. Any storage device - including cell phones and PDAs, though they are a bit more difficult - can be searched/copied and analyzed.
We currently have 2 staff members who are among only 3,000 worldwide with the EnCase® Certified Examiner (EnCE)® designation. This industry standard designation for investigative prodessionals is the gold standard for Forensic education.
The biggest user of computer forensics is the law enforcement community. From financial crimes to child pornography, the government will confiscate a computer, make a forensically sound copy, and then search through the copy to find evidence or confirm tips regarding a crime. Other users include family law practitioners, who use forensics in divorce, child custody, probate and asset tracking cases. In corporate America, some companies will automatically take a forensically sound copy of the hard drive of departing employees. The drive will sit on the shelf unless there is an employment law suit or discrepancy. There is no real manual for performing computer forensic work, but there are practices that have been put into place by software vendors, the FBI, and other law enforcement agencies.
No ordinary consultant is going to be able to perform computer forensic work. A person must have an ability to see needles in haystacks, to plow through mountains of data and to make sense of it. The person also needs to have an outstanding technical background, and then be able to testify or report on the resultant findings in a high-pressure situation. At CBI, our forensic consultants are highly competent technology experts with many years of experience with computers, networks and the nitty-gritty minutia related to computers. They know how hard drives really work, how they are laid out, where data can be hidden and how to access password protected information. Most importantly, our forensic consultants work with the requestor to find out as much as possible about the type of data that is being searched for (e.g., Social Security Numbers, names of various individuals, bank account numbers, etc.). Being an excellent detective in the forensics field will yield good results, and our consultants are excellent detectives.