Once the sources of evidence are identified, the next critical aspect is to learn how to handle the evidence. In the previous chapter, we saw that forensics involves investigative processes used in a manner that is acceptable to a court of law.
Therefore, we need to ensure that all processes followed by us do not compromise the evidentiary value of the collected information.
Digital evidence, by its very nature, is fragile. It is extremely easy to tamper with and equally easy to destroy it.
In fact, in the early days, one of the key features that made computers so popular was the fact that a document that was made in a word processor could be very easily modified and mass produced.
In an evidentiary world, this means that whenever we handle the evidence or transport digital evidence, we may cause it to change. In fact, we may cause the digital evidence to change even when viewing it. Digital evidence may also degrade...
