Your Network Security Breached? Hire a Computer Forensic Expert!

We often see Hollywood movies using the term "hack" into extremes. Most often in crime and action thrillers it gets pretty much blamed for anything. It may make other people paranoid in using their computers but professionals are aware that most of them are impossible.

Company owners are very confident in their security systems. Unfortunately most offenders are the employees themselves. Who can better cause a breach of security other than someone who knows the about the company's network. 

Once this situation arises, you can opt to hire a forensic expert. 

Before you call for a computer forensic expert or company what do you do? You can also play a part in making sure that the situation will be addressed properly. Its common knowledge that once is tampered or damaged it will be inadmissible in the court of law. Before the investigation commences you can help make sure that there is evidence in the computer. 

What to do in a computer crime scene

First you have to make sure that the computer system involved is not used. Leave the computer system the way it is either on or off. If the computer is turned off with the standard shutdown mode, data can be lost. Turning it on the other hand changes the slack file space, temporary files and caches. This causes the data to become altered. If the evidence is anyway tampered it will be accepted in the court of law. 

Do not send your IT personnel to handle the matter. They may be able to collect data but they do not have knowledge in evidence techniques. They may be able to collect data but this will also change the information at hand.

Computer forensics do not just collect data but they also preserve and thoroughly examine the computer and its contents while following standard legal procedures in handling evidence. Any evidence must comply with the standards of the law so that it will be accepted in court.

If you already have the data but you are not sure if it does contain evidence you can call a computer forensic expert or company. Some companies offer a quick analysis to know if the computer system has indeed been used for a criminal act. They can collect the data on site while others require you to ship the hard drive to them.

The hard drive can be taken out by an IT employee, put in an antistatic bag, taped securely, bubble wrapped, placed in a box then shipped. You may have to call the company first before you ship them. 

Letting your IT personnel make a preliminary investigation will change the data. If there is evidence found in the said computer then it has already been tampered with and cannot be used in the court. Computer forensic experts are both trained in the technical matters computer science and standard legal procedures required in court.

Computer forensic experts hire by the hour and the total costs will depend on the nature of your case. After collecting and examining the said data, the analyst will make a report. They can also be used as expert witnesses if it leads to a litigation and prosecution. 

It's important to think first thoroughly about the situation rather estimating future costs. Hiring outside experts is considerably less than the internal costs that will caused by the problem.