Desktop investigations are classified into two types: forensic investigations and ongoing investigations.
Desktop investigation
According to forensic investigations, digital data has become the most valuable asset for each of us in recent years. It has become a strategic resource not only for people but, more importantly, for companies. Many believe that digital data is the “black gold” of the new millennium, but if it falls into the wrong hands, it can often cause irreparable and enormous damage.
In the management and storage of data and in some business activities, the majority of modern companies use digital infrastructure and networks. As a result, so-called “cybercrime” by third parties also began to occur at the same time. They try to obtain sensitive data and confidential information by violently, or even illegally, entering secure systems, even if they are not within the organization. All organizations need to take security management initiatives to ensure that they are not exposed to these dangers.
In recent years, digital forensic investigations have begun.
For this reason, the popularity of computer forensics (also known as digital forensics) has increased in recent decades. It is the science of identifying, storing, protecting, extracting, documenting, and using digital data as evidence in judicial proceedings. This field, which was born in the computer revolution at the end of the 1970s, began to develop as a capillary phenomenon in the 21st century.
Digital forensic investigation is the investigation and restoration of digital data stored on various IT devices through services provided by cyber security experts.
It is a solution for detecting data theft, industrial espionage, and unauthorized access to computer systems and producing reports available for civil and criminal proceedings on the evidence collected. This type of investigation is usually commissioned by individuals or companies who are concerned about becoming victims of criminal activity involving computer systems or data. Such technical desktop investigations are conducted for a variety of reasons, from unfair competition to dishonest human resources, from unauthorized access to computer damage and communication interruptions.
The following are the most common concerns about forensic investigations:
Theft of data, whether business or individual,
The unauthorized use of computer systems is a serious crime.
Computer fraud
Find spy software.
Assessment of falsified digital documents Restoration and retrieval of destroyed data.
Computers, hard disks, and smartphones, as well as network data such as USB pen drives, external disks, optical media, SNS profiles, websites, portals, and management screens, can all be the subject of desktop investigation by computer experts. As a result, these digital investigations include data collection, analysis, and final technical reports by “forensic copy” (replication of original data).
Whether in criminal or civil cases, the IT expert conducting the IT investigation may be appointed as a Party Technical Consultant (CTP) to assist the lawyer with the client and provide IT reports that can be used in the process. Digital forensics can be used not only to identify direct evidence of a crime but also to attribute evidence, corroborate alibis and claims, evaluate intentions, identify sources (in copyright matters), and authenticate documents.