Computer forensics is another aspect of electronic discovery that refers to any process in which data from a particular computer or network is sought, located, secured and searched with a purpose of using it as evidence in a civil or criminal legal case.
Computer forensics has been around for a decade, but is still not popular in the commercial sector making it unexploited. Its growth from discovery to practical operation has been very slow. Now that forensics has been fully established as a science, it has encouraged the police to set up high tech crime units. This has really pushed forensics to new heights, and a lot of people have become aware of its possible uses.
Computer forensics is not a task that can be taken up by any IT professional. It requires great skills and an acute investigative instinct. The acute shortage of experts has lead to huge competition among the private cyber-consulting firms, to hire computer forensic professionals, making computer forensics a highly paid profession. Senior police officers in computer forensics can always reap the benefits of multiple job offers, as they are being recruited for law enforcement and private industry jobs all over the country.
A new law has passed in Georgia for computer forensics, stating that forensics experts who testify in court without a PI license may be committing a felony.
A new password cracker has been launched that will allow forensic investigators help law enforcement agencies in their fight against crime and global terrorism. The password cracker identifies and removes password, from platter locked hard drives used in laptop computers and will be a major timesaver in the field or during covert investigations.
Growth in computer forensics has strengthened the police force. Enabling them to find hidden evidences and preserve them for future purposes. Hence, growth in computer forensics has proved crucial in reducing the rate of crime all around the world.
