Digital Evidence Handbook

How to preserve and use as evidence photos,emails, files, documents, CCTV images, spreadsheets, databases, web-pages, websites, SMS texts, instant messages, social medial posts and chats, VOIP calls, PCs, laptops, smartphones, tablets, data in the cloud and more

Understand legal principles and law enforcement techniques in the digital world; Digital Forensics Principles

Evidence is vital in most disputes and criminal investigations. It is not that difficult to acquire and preserve many forms of digital evidence from smartphones and PCs – but it does require thought and planning so that evidence items become difficult to challenge. The Digital Evidence Handbook tells you how to do so.

Most books on digital / computer forensics are aimed at professionals and those who aspire to become one. But with a bit of care the ordinary smartphone and PC user can preserve and use as evidence emails, photos, files, documents, web pages, social media postings, records of phone calls, SMS texts, instant messages, screen captures and more. They can be used in arguments about contracts, misrepresentations in web-pages, after vehicle accidents, to show that delivered goods were faulty, whether emails were sent and received, when and where phone calls took place, whether money was paid – and to assist the police in frauds, harassments, sexual offences among many other situations.

Of course the more difficult evidence collection and investigation exercises can only be carried out by trained professionals with the right equipment but there is a great deal the ordinary user can do for themselves. And where they can’t there are things that can be done to support the work of professionals. It also helps to know what professionals can and can’t be asked to do.

The book also covers legalities – some forms of digital investigation though easy to carry out can become illegal – the use of monitoring/surveillance programs and unauthorised computer intrusions are two obvious examples.

The Digital Evidence Handbook is being published in electronic form, as a Kindle. The advantage is that readers are able to use indexes and links to find the information they need quickly and without having to read material which is irrelevant to their immediate needs. Kindle reading software is available for PCs, tablets and smartphones so that the book can be instantly available; it also makes it possible to offer a substantial work at very low cost.