Legal Issues in Computer Forensics and Digital Evidence Admissibility

COMPUTER FORENSICS INTEGRATES THE FIELDS OF COMPUTER SCIENCE AND LAW TO INVESTIGATE CRIME. FOR DIGITAL EVIDENCE TO BE LEGALLY ADMISSIBLE IN COURT, INVESTIGATORS SHOULD FOLLOW PROPER LEGAL PROCEDURES WHEN RECOVERING AND ANALYZING DATA FROM COMPUTER SYSTEMS. THE LAWS WRITTEN BEFORE THE ERA OF COMPUTER FORENSICS ARE OFTEN OUTDATED AND CANNOT ADEQUATELY ASSESS THE TECHNIQUES USED IN A COMPUTER SYSTEM SEARCH. THE INABILITY OF THE LAW TO KEEP PACE WITH TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENTS MAY ULTIMATELY LIMIT THE USE OF COMPUTER FORENSICS EVIDENCE IN COURT. THIS PAPER DISCUSSES LEGAL ISSUES IN COMPUTER FORENSICS INVESTIGATIONS PROCESS AND ADMISSIBILITY OF DIGITAL EVIDENCE IN COURT OF LAW.