Digital Forensic Services

Metadata is information about data. Metadata is critical in computer forensic investigations because it describes important aspects of the data (or document), such as the author, the last print time, or when the file was created, accessed, or modified. Because metadata is fundamental data, it requires the same forensic scrutiny as any other type of data and is frequently invisible unless special tools and methods are used.

The goal of data recovery procedures is to recover files and folders lost from damaged disc drives, media, computers, peripherals, or operating systems due to disc or system failure, unintentional deletion, or other unexpected circumstances, without monitoring the device’s usage. In general, data recovery could be considered the first step in gathering evidence in a computer forensics investigation.

When digital media is imaged (created as an exact replica of the original), all files and folders, as well as deleted data, are recovered. In addition, the ability to see any hidden or un-partitioned space is gained. Computer forensics is a service that focuses on providing evidence (or proving a lack of evidence) about how a computer was used, what files were accessed, and when, and who accessed them. Computer forensics investigators can find, assemble, analyze, and explain large amounts of digital information that would be useless for data recovery services but invaluable in a court of law.

The longer a computer or digital device is used or awaits inspection, the more likely it is that the digital evidence will be tainted or lost. It is critical to understand that a computer’s operating system constantly and randomly overwrites data on the hard drive. This means that the longer a computer is used, the more likely it is that evidence will be lost. Fortunately, the operating system frequently records evidence in multiple locations at the same time, so if the data is overwritten in one location, it may still exist in another.

It’s also true that just turning on the computer or browsing through files can potentially corrupt the data you’re looking for. File creation dates can change, files can be overwritten, and evidence can be corrupted. All of these risks, however, can be mitigated by contacting a Computer Forensics expert immediately and obtaining an image of the computer as soon as possible without destroying or altering any valuable evidence.

Yes, a cell phone may contain important evidence as iPads, cell phones, digital cameras, and other mobile devices store data directly to internal memory that is volatile and more likely to be lost when the device is shut off or the battery is depleted (or removed). We should follow the below guidelines to secure these devices for future examination:

• You should not turn “on” the device if its “off.”
• Also, if the device is on, leave it on. If you shut down the device, it could enable passwords, which might prevent access to evidence resulting in the loss of data evidence.
• You should photograph the device and screen display, if available.
• You should label and collect all cables and transport them with the device.
• You should keep your device charged.
• If for some reason the device cannot be charged, then an analysis by a specialist must be done before the battery gets discharged or you might lose all your data.
• You should document all steps while your device and its components are seized.