Forensic Aspects of Digital Evidence: Contributions and Initiatives by the National center for Forensic Science (NCFS)

摘要

"Digital evidence is information of probative value that is that is either stored or transmitted in a digital form."~1 Digital evidence can exist as words (text), sound (audio), or images (video or still pictures). Law enforcement and forensic scientists are faced with collecting and analyzing these new forms of evidence that previously existed on paper or on magnetic tapes. They must apply the law and science to the processes they use. Extrapolating the old processes into the new formats has been proceeding since the 1980's. Regardless of the output format, all digital evidence has a certain commonality. One would assume that the rules of evidence and the scientific approach would also have some common characteristics. Obviously, there is also a divergence due to the differences in outputs. It is time to approach the issues regarding digital evidence in a more deliberate, organized, and scientific manner. The program outlined by the NCFS would explore these various formats, the features common to traditional types of forensic evidence, and their divergent features and explore the scientific basis for handling of digital evidence. Our web site, www.ncfs.org, describes our programs.