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You are an employee at D&B Investigations, a firm that contracts with individuals, companies, and government agencies to conduct computer forensics investigations. D&B employees are expected to observe the following tenets, which the company views as the foundation for its success: Give concerted attention to clients’ needs and concerns; Follow proper procedures and stay informed about legal issues; Maintain the necessary skill set to apply effective investigative techniques using the latest technologies. Your manager has scheduled a meeting with an important prospective client, Brendan Oliver, a well-known celebrity.

Recently, Mr. Oliver’s public relations team discovered that someone obtained three photos from his smartphone and attempted to sell them to the media. Due to the sensitive nature of these photos, Mr. Oliver and his team have not contacted law enforcement yet. They seek guidance from D&B regarding whether the firm can assist in the investigation or help prevent similar incidents in the future. The team is unsure how the photos were acquired; they speculate that a friend, family member, or employee with direct access might have obtained the photos. Mr. Oliver’s phone is normally locked with a passcode when not in use.

Additionally, Mr. Oliver emailed these photos to one other person several months ago. Although they have not been in contact recently, Mr. Oliver believes that the recipient has not shared the photos. The client’s objective for the upcoming meeting is to establish rapport, understand the case better, and demonstrate D&B’s expertise. The firm views this as an opportunity to build future business, regardless of whether it is retained for this particular investigation.

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This case involves a potential criminal offense related to the unauthorized access, possession, and distribution of private photos, constituting privacy violations, data theft, and possibly other cybercrimes. The nature of this crime, centered around the theft and potential distribution of sensitive digital images, influences the scope and approach of a subsequent investigation. Digital evidence is often fragile and susceptible to alteration; hence, the investigation must be conducted meticulously, following established forensic protocols to preserve evidence integrity, establish chain of custody, and ensure the admissibility of evidence in court. The investigation’s ultimate goal is to identify the perpetrator, understand how access was gained, and provide legal evidence to support potential prosecution.

A preliminary forensic investigation is warranted because digital devices such as smartphones are often the source of such crimes. This involves, for instance, examining whether there was unauthorized access to Mr. Oliver’s phone, whether the phone’s security measures were compromised, or if the photos were accessed through other means such as hacking, phishing, or insider threats. Additionally, analyzing the email exchange could reveal inadvertent sharing or further distribution. Investigators would need to recover deleted data, analyze logs, and possibly examine cloud storage or backups if involved. Based on this limited information, additional details such as access logs, device encryption status, and email headers are essential to decide whether a full investigation is justified.

In preparing for and executing a computer forensic investigation, investigators typically follow key principles including maintaining the integrity of digital evidence, documenting every step of evidence collection, utilizing validated tools for data recovery and analysis, and adhering to legal standards to challenge admissibility. For this case, key points include: (1) Securing the device and isolating it from network connections to prevent remote tampering, (2) Creating exact forensic images of digital storage to analyze duplicatively without altering original data, (3) Documenting and preserving the chain of custody for all evidence, (4) Conducting thorough searches for relevant artifacts such as access logs, recent activity, and metadata, and (5) Analyzing email headers and cloud backups to track the dissemination of images and identify potential sources.

Investigators would examine sources like the smartphone’s internal storage, cloud backups, email account logs, and possibly social media activity or other messaging platforms if used. For example, metadata embedded in the photos could reveal creation dates or device identifiers; email headers could show the recipient’s account activity; device access logs, if available, could establish who accessed the phone and when. Such evidence is critical for constructing an accurate timeline and pinpointing how unauthorized access or copying occurred.

To ensure evidence can be used in court, all parties must follow procedures compliant with laws such as the Federal Rules of Evidence and relevant privacy regulations. This means properly documenting the collection process, avoiding contamination or alteration of data, and maintaining a clear chain of custody. Investigation teams must use validated forensic tools that produce forensically sound copies of data. During analysis, conclusions should be based solely on admissible evidence, avoiding guesswork or assumptions. When presenting evidence, clarity in explanations and adherence to legal standards is vital. The client may question the confidentiality, the thoroughness of the investigation, or the admissibility of evidence, while the team should also inquire about access points, device security measures, and known vulnerabilities.

Questions to ask the client include: How is the phone secured? Has anyone else had physical or remote access? Are there backups stored elsewhere? What devices or accounts might have been involved? By gathering this information, investigators can determine the most productive avenues for digital evidence collection and analysis. Next steps may include securing the device, obtaining court orders if necessary for retrieving backups, and conducting interviews or digital audits to uncover potential insider threats or hacking attempts.

References

• Casey, E. (2011). Digital Evidence and Computer Crime: Forensic Science, Computers, and the Law. Academic Press.
• Rogers, M. (2020). Computer Forensics: Principles and Practices. CRC Press.
• National Institute of Justice. (2014). Computer Forensic Tools Used in Digital Investigations. NIJ Publication.
• U.S. Department of Justice. (2022). Principles of Digital Evidence. DOJ Guidelines.
• Calder, A. (2019). Digital Forensics for Legal Professionals: Understanding Digital Evidence, Computer Crime and Digital Investigation. Syngress.
• Rogers, M. (2018). Cybersecurity for Dummies. Wiley.
• Koenig, D., & Wiederhold, G. (2013). Laws and Legal Concepts in Digital Investigations. Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law.
• National Cyber Security Centre. (2017). Best Practice Guide for Digital Evidence Collection. NCSC Publication.
• Casey, E. (2019). Digital Evidence and Investigations: Extraction, Analysis, and Preservation. Elsevier.
• Santos, R. (2021). Legal and Ethical Issues in Digital Forensics. International Journal of Law and Information Technology.