NCJ Number
203184
Journal
Law Enforcement Technology Volume: 30 Issue: 10 Dated: October 2003 Pages: 110,112,114,115
Date Published
October 2003
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This article discusses combating corporate crime and terrorism through computer forensic investigations.
Abstract
Corporate crime investigation often falls outside of the usual duties of typical law enforcement officers. As such, corporations themselves are becoming more involved in policing their own employees. Only when a corporate crime is strongly suspected are law enforcement officers brought into the investigation. Many of these investigations, whether through law enforcement agencies or corporate security departments, involve the extraction of data from computers. The article describes the work and accomplishments of Mark McLaughlin, president of Computer Forensics International, a computer evidence recovery firm. McLaughlin explains that even if computer drives are reformatted and a new operating system is installed, unless data is overwritten, it is still retrievable. Encase software is described, which allows investigators to conduct noninvasive computer forensic investigations and manage large volumes of computer evidence. Encase allows for the viewing of all relevant files, including deleted files, file slack, and unallocated disk and hard drive space. Computer forensic investigations are also useful for tracking terrorism, as terrorists increasingly use e-mail technology to communicate their plans. The article describes recovering e-mails sent from suspected terrorists on library computers. Finally, the article discusses the use of computer forensic investigations for combating money laundering. As the world becomes increasingly digital, computer forensic investigation techniques become an increasingly valuable law enforcement tool.