Research Area:  Digital Forensics
Nowadays, as a result of the ubiquitous nature of information technology, evidence presented in court is less likely to be on paper. Evidence of computer crime also differs from that related to traditional crimes for which there are well established standards and procedures. In order for digital evidence to be admissible, investigators need to demonstrate that they have specialized knowledge and have applied reliable principles and models to acquire it. Careful notice is taken in court of the manner in which the digital investigative process has been carried out.
However, despite such requisites, the field of digital forensics still lacks formal process models that courts can employ to determine the reliability of the process followed in a digital investigation. The existing models have often been developed by digital forensic practitioners,based on their own personal experience and on an ad-hoc basis,without attention to the establishment of standardization within the field. This has prevented the institution of the formal processes that are urgently required.
Moreover, as digital forensic investigators often operate within different fields of law enforcement, commerce and incident response, the existing models have often tended to focus on one particular field and have failed to consider all environments. This has hindered the development of a generic model that can be applied in all the different fields of digital forensics.
Name of the Researcher:  Reza Montasari
Name of the Supervisor(s):  Richard Hill
Year of Completion:  2016
University:  University Of Derby
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