CJUS 363_ Computer and Cyber Forensics
Module 5_ Legal Considerations for Cyber
Investigations Charles Dickens
Welcome back. I'm glad to have you part of the next course, in this next
particular lecture. And going to spend a few minutes today talking with you
about some of the legal considerations associated with cyber investigations.
all of what we're focused on in this particular introductory course is really
getting the foundation's put in place and understanding the basics of the
foundations of what a computer does and how it works, but in order to be
able to bring that into a legal form we have to understand the appropriate
laws that are associated around with that for how we're going to be able to
develop our case, support our client, whether that is as a prosecutor or as a
defender and be able to present the evidence appropriately.
The key things were at talked about today or really just a brief overview of
the two basic constitutional amendments which is the Fourth Amendment
and the Fifth Amendment. the fourth Amendment basically provides
protection to a secured or not to have your invasion of privacy and requiring
basically appropriate search to be conducted within the conduct of an
investigation and the fifth amendment is the protection against self-
incrimination and both of these are important elements in terms of looking at
what we do with cyber cam investigation cyber forensics and the work that
we do in studying reveal and breakdown of what happens with the
computers or electronic transactions.
There are three acts that are associated with or tied into cyber forensics.
These are basically the wiretap act which has been around for quite some
time but list the basic means by which legal entities are able to express
interest in a particular person or activity. And a basically allows them to
establish a means of monitoring of electronic communications. the pen
registers and trap and trace statute this as well as I am a long- standing act
or statute that has been out that has enables a law enforcement to identify
an individual to identify the possibility of communications and so it enables
basically a trace of all outbound calls from basically the pens statement in
terms of sending things out. So those outbound calls and then the inbound
calls would be under trace and trap and end this enables him basically to
build for the connection between individual’s nodes to nodes. if you if you
can think of it from that perspective of from group to group and allows law
enforcement to build sort of the scenario and condition center around who's
involved that part of a longer-term investigation.
The third element is the sound wired and electronic communication act. I'm
sorry stored wired and communication act and this particular act provide
some security or the conditions in terms of safeguarding our personal or
what's expected as personal private information. in each one of these cases
that there is there is a the condition of what's expected as a right to privacy
and there are some conditions by which those that privacy can be stepped
into an and that is when there's a reasonable suspicion at that
had particular moment by observation because something is revealed in
public and that opens up a condition to allow a question and then if the
potential suspect provides provision or has given latitude of by release of
their information, by sending it over to my email or electronic
communications or buy disc basically has qualified some form of release that
is gone from that particular individual to others. And then based off of their
agreement and release conditionally that could be brought forward as fun as
potential evidence.
There’s a number of cases of that legal conditions that come into place it
with respect to each of these. There are some nuances for the most part the
wire and tap and the pens that race you can sense it was originally built in
there around the idea of telephones and telephone Communications. Our
electronic communications have changed significantly since then today
werewolf face with electronic transactions basically working between your
computer and the internet you're in some cases electronic transactions
occurring between gaming platforms and modules you're talking electronic
transactions occur in between your phone and personal digital assistants
and various other networks and notes.
and every one of these become conditions by which now based off of patriot
act in the United States has an ability to be tapped into as well and it's so the
condition legally of where does your personal information reside it is always
a condition of a question and in a legal basis and turn the power boss if I
have been growing from this continue to change. as an example of there is
one case of which individual was suspect was picked up in and the computer
was registered as a warranted item to be searched and a secured and
basically they picked up the item in and in the process of searching securing
and in reviewing how they the quantity of evidence within that computer,
several other incriminating things came out to such as a child pornography
and other conditions that basically set additional charges against that
individual.
and they were all allowed to be admissible in court simply because the
original war and granted against that particular computer was built around
the idea that it was a single store item and therefore everything inside of it
was open to review, interpretation, examination.
the counter that another case comes up where very simulator suspect is
apprehended based off drugs and the search and search and seizure of the
particular property was focused on looking for drug, drug transactions any
references to drugs and so therefore the Examiner was limited to his ability
to find the information within the confines of the system in and around drug,
drug negotiations, drug transactions. And however again found several
different files continue trouble for not pornography which that Court did not
allow any prosecution being oriented towards a child pornography as the
examiner had no right of pursuing any information about ethical conduct of
the original investigation to be able to draw all those things out. And had
never put forward another warrant based off of potentially identified a
suspect files. And therefore that second half of any further pursuit of a
conviction against the defendant oriented towards child pornography and
illicit actions in that degree were thrown out.
So there’s a number of things that come into play with this but the bottom
line is that you know there are these illegal activities. We have the fourth
amendment that which is basically providing a guarantee to our right privacy.
5th Amendment basically not allow ourselves to be you know are protecting
against self-incrimination. And then these three principal acts: the wiretap
act, pin registration, trap and traces device statute and the stored wired
electronic communications act. That are enabling most of the current
approaches to how computer and cyber forensics investigations are
conducted.
Thank you and I look forward to our next session.
