5 Types of Digital Evidence You Know

Digital Evidence plays a key role in today’s era, helping modern investigators solve various cases like cybercrime, fraud and other digital offences. 

Digital Forensics is the field that deals with identifying, collecting, preserving and analyzing digital evidence to help in legal proceedings. It is important to understand the different types of digital evidence, helping forensic experts in their work.

Here are 5 Types of Digital Evidence

•    Computer Data: One of the most common types of digital evidence is computer data. This includes files and documents stored in the computer or other digital devices. The files can be Word files, Excel file, images, text documents and videos to more sensitive materials like emails and system logs. The cyber forensics experts extract and analyze these files to uncover important evidence of criminal activity like fraudulent transactions, illegal communications or even plans for criminal acts.
•    Mobile Device Data: Today, more than 85% of the global population is using smartphones and tablets. Mobile device data has become a significant source of digital evidence. This includes text messages, call logs, photos, videos, app data and geographical location information. The Digital Forensics experts extract this data through specialized software and techniques to analyze the behaviour patterns, locate the suspects and track the movements. The mobile device data is valuable in criminal investigations relating to cyberbullying, stalking and financial fraud. 
•    Internet and Cloud Data: Internet usage and cloud–based services have changed the way people store and access data. Browsing history, emails, social media activity and cloud-storage files can provide good evidence in the investigations. The cyber forensics specialists analyze the metadata, logs and cloud storage data from services and reveal a person’s activities like their online communications, financial transactions or research on particular topics, helping the investigations understand the context of crime and offence.
•    Network Data: This is another key source of digital evidence. This includes server logs, network traffic and firewall logs that record the movement of data across the network. The digital forensics experts analyze this information and trace the origin and destination of malicious activities like hacking or data breaches. This data helps the experts identify intrusions, unauthorized access and the methods used to exploit the system or network, making it a key part of many cybercrime investigations.
•    Forensic Images: A forensic image is an exact copy of the storage device, such as a hard drive or USB stick. These images capture every bit of data on the device, including the deleted files, system logs and temporary files. The experts use the forensic images to analyze the complete content of the device without changing or damaging the original data. Memory dumps that capture the contents of the RAM are significant for recovering volatile data like passwords, encryption keys or ongoing activities during a cybercrime.

Understanding the types of digital evidence is important to conduct thorough and effective investigations. Forensic experts must adapt to identify and handle new types of digital evidence that play a key role in solving crimes and securing justice. 

Also Read: What are the features of digital forensics?