Digital and Traditional Crimes - Report Example

Introduction Technology has become an everyday staple in life. From cell phones to the Internet, technology is used by individuals worldwide daily. Since digital technology has advanced, digital crimes are becoming more numerous and frequent (Stephenson, 2003, p. 3). While digital crimes happen in digital arenas, a portion of the crime has a physical aspect. A digital crime investigation also has a digital and physical aspect. In today’s technology rich environment, both a digital and physical aspect must be taken into account when investigating crimes. Digital and Traditional Crimes Digital and traditional crimes are no longer separate entities. Carrier and Spafford (2003, p.1) explains “Murder and rape suspects may, through a search warrant, have their email and Internet activities analyzed to find evidence about their motives or hiding locations.” While traditional crimes are being solved with digital investigation techniques, traditional techniques are helping solve digital crimes as well. One similarity of digital and traditional crimes is they both leave traces from the victim and perpetrator. Carrier and Spafford (2003, p.5) state this is “the Locard Exchange principle. It states, ‘when two objects come into contact, a mutual exchange of matter will take place between them.’” In a traditional crime, fingerprints can be left, while fibers can be taken from a crime scene. Digital crimes leave traces as well. When a computer program is breached, a record is left on both computers, no matter how well the hacker hides his code. However, like a traditional crime, the evidence might be small and minuscule. It is up to the investigator to find the evidence. It is important to realize in any digital investigation the type types of evidence. There is physical evidence and digital evidence. Carrier and Spafford (2003, p.6) define the two as: Physical Evidence: Physical objects that can establish that a crime has been committed, can provide a link between a crime and its victim, or can provide a link between a crime and its perpetrator [25]. The actual computer, hard disk, PDA, and CD-ROM are examples of physical evidence. Digital Evidence: Digital data that can establish that a crime has been committed, can provide a link between a crime and its victim, or can provide a link between a crime and its perpetrator [13]. The data in memory, on the hard disk, or in a cell phone are examples of digital evidence. It is impossible to have one with out the other. For example, the digital evidence of data in a memory cannot be accessed without the actual computer. An example of digital and physical evidence can be show through the tracing of an Internet address being used for sending viruses, Trojans, or other digital crimes. Stephenson (2003, p. 6) reports: Researchers at the University of Michigan and Cal. Tech. have developed a technique for determining the probability that an address is being spoofed. The technique is as follows: · Extract the final TTL from the packet header – call it T · Extract the source address from that packet – call it S · Infer the initial TTL from the type of packet, standards, etc. (remembering that a packet can be crafted with a different TTL than the standard) – call that To· Calculate the hop count (Hc) by Hc =To – T · Perform a trace route (try several to ensure that you have a good average number of hops) to S to get the stored hop count, Hs · If Hc ¹ Hs you may have a spoofed packet. This technique may help you trace an ISP. The extraction and the formula are used as digital evidence, whereas the computer running the program is the physical evidence. Crime Scene The major difference between a traditional and digital crime is the scene of the crime. • Physical Crime Scene: The physical environment where physical evidence of a crime or incident exists. The environment where the first criminal act occurred is the primary physical crime scene and subsequent scenes are secondary physical crime scenes. We created this definition based on the one given by Lee [19]. • Digital Crime Scene: The virtual environment created by software and hardware where digital evidence of a crime or incident exists. The environment where the first criminal act occurred is the primary digital crime scene and subsequent scenes are called secondary digital crime scenes. (Carrier and Spafford, 2003, p.6) The digital crime scene is what makes the crime complex. Any lay person walking up on an obvious murder scene can tell that a crime occurred. A digital crime needs an individual with more expertise in digital matters to understand when and if an incident has occurred. Example A hypothetical example for a digital crime being investigated with digital and traditional methods would be a company cell phone’s usage. A corporation has learned that an employee or employees have been using a company cell phone for personal calls. This cell phone is used by numerous employees, depending on the employee that is the field that day. The digital investigation would be conducted at the mobile phone company, with them sending all phone calls on a bill to the investigator. The investigator then would use some traditional methods to determine who made the calls. Individuals with access to the phone would be interviewed. Numbers on the bill would be called in order to question the person who answered. Time sheet records should be examined. Finally, after collecting the information, a determination should be made on the guilty individual. After a determination, a supervisor would determine the punishment for the stolen cell phone minutes. In the above example physical and digital aspects are present. The physical aspects of the investigation are the interviews, reverse phone calls, and cell phone. The digital aspects are the cell phone, time sheets, and cell phone records. Both physical and digital elements were necessary to accomplish this investigation. Conclusion Digital crimes are not solved by digital methods alone. Even when a traditional crime is committed, digital investigations can help solve them. Some traditional crimes can be solved without digital help, but that is not the case with digital crimes. The four elements of a digital crime are physical evidence, digital evidence, physical crime scene, and digital crime scene. Digital and traditional elements both must be used to solve digital crimes. References Carrier, B. and Spafford, E.H., (2003) Getting Physical with the Digital Investigation Process. International Journal of Digital Evidence. Fall 2003, 2:2. Stephenson, P., PhD, CISSP, CISM, FICAF, (2003) A Comprehensive Approach to Digital Incident Investigation. Elsevier Advanced Technology. Read More