Computer Forensics and Cyber Crime

Collecting, analyzing, and reporting digital data in a legally acceptable way, used in crime detection and disputes.

Gathering digital evidence in a way that maintains its integrity and admissibility in a court of law.

Examining digital media to uncover facts and opinions about the digital information, in a forensically sound manner.

Digital evidence that holds up in a court of law.

The process of retrieving lost or inaccessible digital data from storage devices.

A documented history of evidence, showing who possessed it, when, and how it was handled. This ensures its integrity and legal admissibility.

Limited resources, poor communication, and reliance on automated tools and unqualified experts are some recurring hurdles.

Victims often hesitate to report cybercrimes due to distrust in investigative capabilities or potential consequences.

Corporate advisors may discourage reporting cybercrimes to protect their clients, even if it hampers justice.

A physical drive refers to the actual hardware device and the data stored at the electronic level, while a logical drive refers to software-defined partitions of a physical drive that are managed as independent units. It is the logical drive organization that is most crucial for computer forensics.

The exact size of a file, measured in bytes, as it appears to the operating system.

The actual space a file occupies on a physical drive.

Storage that retains data even when power is off. Examples include hard disks, CDs, DVDs, flash drives.

Data is lost when the power is off. Examples include RAM, cache.

A section of a hard disk that the operating system treats as a single unit. Typically, a hard drive can have up to four partitions.

A specific type of partition that can be further subdivided into multiple logical disks. It allows for more flexible storage organization.

A table containing information about each partition on a hard disk. It identifies the partition's location, bootable status, and other details.

The way a computer organizes data on a hard disk. It's responsible for managing file storage and retrieval.

A special sector on a hard disk that contains information about disk partitions, including the location of the operating system's boot loader. It's crucial for launching the operating system.

It's the practice of gathering, analyzing, and presenting digital evidence in a legally acceptable way, used for investigating crimes or disputes.

It helps investigators uncover digital evidence, track down criminals, and resolve disputes involving digital information.

It's easily altered, making it crucial to collect and preserve it in a way that maintains its integrity and admissibility in court.

Data is stored on a hard drive, which is divided into sections called partitions. These partitions are then organized into files and folders using a file system.

It's a special section on a hard drive that contains information about the disk's partitions and the location of the operating system's boot loader.

The smallest physical storage unit on a disk. It's like a tiny slice of a track containing data. Operating systems determine the size of each sector.

A group of one or more adjacent sectors that make up the basic storage unit for files on a disk. It's the minimum space allocated to a file.

The actual size of a file in bytes, as seen by the operating system.

The unused space between the end of a file and the end of the cluster it's stored in. It can potentially hide deleted data.

It's a section of a hard drive that the operating system considers as a single unit. It allows for organizing storage space efficiently and can have a maximum of four partitions.

A special partition that can be further divided into multiple logical disks. It offers flexibility in organizing and managing storage space on a hard drive.

A table that holds information about each partition on a hard drive. It identifies the partition's location, bootable status, and other essential details.

It's the structure that a computer uses to organize data on a hard drive. It manages file storage and retrieval, ensuring efficient access to information.

The process of extracting data directly from the physical drive without relying on the file system. This method examines every sector of the drive, including areas outside the file system, to identify and recover data.

The process of extracting data based on the file system structure and operating system information. This method focuses on files, folders, and the organization of data within the file system.

A physical extraction technique that searches for specific words or phrases across all sectors of the drive, regardless of file system organization. This can uncover hidden or deleted data.

A physical extraction technique that recovers files based on their unique file signatures instead of relying on file system metadata. This allows for recovery of deleted or fragmented files.

A logical extraction technique that eliminates known or irrelevant files to focus on the most important data for the investigation.

Digital evidence is easily altered, so maintaining its integrity and legal admissibility is crucial. This involves carefully handling, preserving, and analyzing the evidence.

Challenges like limited resources, poor communication between agencies, overreliance on automated tools, and underreporting of cybercrimes.

Victims often don't report cybercrimes due to mistrust in law enforcement, fear of repercussions, or believing the process is too complex.

A directory that maps a drive, identifying the location of each file's data and its size. It allows for efficient access to stored files.

A more advanced file system developed by Microsoft, offering enhanced security, performance, and larger file sizes.

A key component of NTFS, it contains records describing each and every file on the drive, like a detailed inventory.

The initial set of instructions that load when your computer starts up, including boot sector information.

A self-diagnostic routine that runs after your computer powers on, checking for hardware problems.

Standard Operating Procedure, a set of guidelines for conducting computer forensics investigations. They ensure consistency, accuracy, and legal admissibility of findings.

Specific environmental needs for a computer forensics lab, ensuring optimal conditions for evidence storage and analysis, maintaining chain of custody.

Essential hardware components needed for a computer forensic lab, including storage, processing, and security.

Software designed to create exact copies of digital evidence (images) without altering the original source, crucial for maintaining integrity.

Software tools used in computer forensics to analyze network traffic, identify suspicious activity, and track data flow.