Computer Forensics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Computer Forensics - Essay Example We live in borderless world. Although people our bounded by geographic terrain, the World Wide Web has made it possible for people to connect with each other with a click of the mouse. Truly, this is a wonderful world to live. With this added convenience, old problems have begun to take on new forms. Before, crimes involving money usually involved the use of physical harassment and coercion. Banks get robbed, and even some personnel were killed. Some rich or well-to-do people found themselves abducted for ransom. But today, theft is more insidious and even subtle. One may not realize that he or she has been a victim already. When the Internet got into the hands of many people and that life has become intertwined with it, more and more people have become susceptible to crimes committed via the Internet, usually termed as cybercrime. This paper shall survey the emerging technologies that are being used against cybercrime. In particular, we shall take a look at the developments happening in the field of computer forensics and how law-enforcement agencies are capitalizing on these. But for a start, let us examine what cybercrimes are. Etymologically speaking, cybercrimes are crimes committed via the world-wide web. Although no rigorous definition of it has been formulated, we can accept the common sense definition as useful. Examples of cybercrimes are "gaining unauthorized access to computer files, disrupting the operation of remote computers with viruses, worms, logic bombs, Trojan horses, and denial of service attacks; distributing and creating child pornography, stealing another's identity; selling contraband, and stalking victims." (Nesson, 2001) Almost everyone knows about the damages inflicted by Melissa and ILOVEYOU viruses. Once in a while, a news report features the arrest of a hacker or a perpetrator of identity theft. These are not just petty crimes; they struck damages to our economy. As a matter of fact, the FBI reports an annual loss of about $ 67 Billion due to such acts. (Cybercrime, 2007). Computer Forensics With these in mind, there must be found a way to prevent these crimes. If not, perhaps prosecution of the criminal will suffice. We should look to our law-enforcing agencies with their use of Computer Forensics. Computer Forensics is similar to the regular forensics procedures done by law enforcers, such as those seen in CSI. Computer forensics is "a detailed and scientific study, research and implementation of computer science subjects for the purpose of gathering digital evidence in cases of cyber crimes or for other scientific research purposes." In computer networks, experts use packet sniffing, IP address tracing and email address tracing. (Vyavhare, 2007) Packet sniffing is the retrieval of crucial data packets from networks. These may contain usernames or passwords used by cybercriminals. IP addresses are unique, but sometimes criminals use proxy. The goal of IP address tracing is to trace the real IP address of the culprit. Email tracing is used when it is possible that the cybercriminal is still in the location where a questionable email has been sent. If not, by tracing the email, this may provide valuable clues. In computer systems, the computer forensics expert, analyzes the file structure, checks the storage media, uses steganography (the art of concealing information in images, sounds, or any unconventional file format), and