5 steps to securing the Digital Crime Scene

Today, just about every crime scene has a digital element. Just like a normal crime scene, the Digital crime scene also needs to be secured in a manner that ensures integrity of the evidence does not compromise court admissibility at a later date.

However, preparation is the key to crime scene success. The First Responder needs to have prepared necessary tools and media to be able to tackle most situations that may need to be dealt with when arriving at the crime scene. They should have at a minimum a D.E.S.K Unit (Digital Evidence Seizure Kit ) to get started.?

Here are the 5 steps that are essential to securing the Digital crime scene.?

1. Take control of the crime scene - unauthorised personnel should not be permitted access to the Digital crime scene or the Digital evidence. Have proper warrants, court notices etc ready for this.?
2. Identify, enumerate and isolate sources of Digital evidence. Document the unique serial numbers, stick labels onto each piece of evidence, identify all cable connections etc. Networked devices will need to be disconnected from both wired and wireless networks to prevent remote spoilage of evidential data. Any other possible modes of spoilage will also need to be tackled at this point.?
3. Document the crime scene - Photography of the crime scene is essential. The layout, the connections of the computer, the external devices attached etc. etc.?
4. Document the computer date & time and correlate to the real world to be able to cross-reference the date and times of data evidence in the digital media.?
5. Create evidence seizure and chain of custody documentation, get the bag and tag etc. accessories ready in preparation of the next stage.?

Once the Digital Crime Scene is secure, then and only then can you begin the process of evidence seizure.?

I will write more on the right process of evidence seizure in another article sometime later.?