Computer Forensics

It wouldn't take the most vivid of imaginations to deduce that with the increasing large part that computer technology plays in our lives and business, that this major breakthrough would bring with it the unfortunate side effect of computer crime and a emerging field of computer forensics.

Computer crimes are hard to trace and large sums of money have been gypped from the unsuspecting public. The vast amount of spam e-mails that the public are inundated with on a daily basis, cover a wide variety of computer based frauds. Know in the industry as phishing, computer confidence tricksters send out hundred's of thousand's of e-mails trying to reel in unsuspecting victims. They are looking for any scrap of identification information in order to do their dirty deeds. The public are always advised never to open an e-mail unless they are absolutely sure that the sender is genuine. People who have made the mistake of passing on such information, even though the offer they have been given seem very tempting; have found themselves victims of all kinds of frauds. One of the most nefarious is identity theft. This form of fraud can have implications for the victim for years to come.

Although they are often very reluctant to admit it, larger financial institutions such as banks or insurance companies have often fallen victims to larger forms of computer crime.

However, every cloud, no matter how dark, has its silver lining. A whole new breed of computer forensic orientated private investigators have emerged to counteract the dark forces that are doing their criminal best to take the good out of the internet and its benefits. These computer crime busters are working to push these low lives off the internet.

As well as this new breed of computer savvy private investigators, a whole new technology is springing up based around the computer age. Known as computer forensics, this technology is utilized to analyze and subsequently investigate a computer orientated crime scenario. This whole new generation of criminology can simulate possible computer fraud scenarios and at best eliminate them. In some cases, sadly too few, the perpetrators are brought to justice.

One area where computer forensic investigators are making major inroads is in solving crimes by unearthing and analyzing evidence stored on a computer hard disc. Where once a footprint or a finger print was sufficient, computer forensics is now been used to discover incriminating data hidden deep within a computer system.

Many criminals who fully believed that they have fully covered their tracks have been astounded to discover that an expert in computer forensics has succeeded in unearthing information that will incriminate them and send them into incarceration for many years to come. Even completely erasing a hard disc will not protect the white collar criminal from their arch enemy - the computer forensic specialist.

A highly trained specialist in computer forensics is the new breed of private investigator. However it is not sufficient to just have in depth knowledge of computers and especially their operating systems.

More and more young people are attending courses specializing in this new technology. These people, who have made computer forensics their specialty, are often referred to as Diploma Certified Computer Examiners (DCCE's) their services are very much in demand, in industry, finance and even in some of the federal agencies.

The expert in computer forensics will be with us for a long time, so it would appear. As the hackers become more sophisticated, and continue to prey on the good people who use the internet, then the computer forensic investigator will be required to sharpen and develop their skills to continue the struggle to make these peoples lives as uncomfortable as the can, whilst leaving no stone unturned to trace these online thieves and bring them to justice.