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BEFORE THE ERA OF COMPUTER FORENSICS ARE OFTEN OUTDATED AND CANNOT ADEQUATELY ASSESS THE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.
KEYWORDS: FORENSICS, ADMISSIBILITY, DIGITAL EVIDENCE, JURISDICTION, LITIGATION