"This is it, the complete crime......

"This is it, the complete crime..." thinks Freddy as he hastily clicks the mouse forward his computer. "As soon as I pattern this last schematic diagram, Widgetman Co.'s intellectual characteristic will be mine, and formerly I sell it to our competitor Widget King, I'll be rich!" Then with a punctuated click of the "burn now" button, Freddy toasts the information to compact disc, suppresss the disc from his computer a whole and leaves the office for the night contented in the knowledge that he will not at any time be caught. But has he really committed the complete crime? Has Freddy managed to steal his employer's information without leaving a trail of breadcrumbs?

The short answer is no. Freddy's actions have left traces forward his computer, and a skilled computer forensics investigator-one involved early enough during an investigation-will be able to identify those traces to determine which files have been remov and from whom.

A new way to retrieve information

Broadly defined, computer forensics is the practice of retrieving information from electronic devices. While the range of electronic devices sought public for information retrieval in the past was generally limited to computer hard drives and computer server back-up tapes, the increasing pace with which technology has advanced in the last 20 years means that a larger number of electronic devices must now be included in computer forensic reviews.

Basically, any electronic devices that store information can have forensic work performed upon them-devices such as digital cameras, USB Memory sticks, building access swipe-cards, fax machine log confined apartment phones, and Blackberries. And this list is forever growing, which is potentially advantageous news for the individuals who want to commit fraud, and bad novels for the forensic accountants trying to catch them. Whereas in the past forensic accountants necessityed only to concern themselves with the paper archetype of the general ledger, the suspect's desktop personal computer and anything other that might be uncovered during a desk audit, today's forensic accountant must continue an eye out for a variety of different storage devices, a certain quantity of of which are no larger than a child's finger.

Computer forensics and forensic accounting

Many individuals who commit illegal acts in electronic mediums don't realize that their actions are being captured; unruffled fewer realize that this captured information is almost always retrievable. That's where computer forensics ensues in-by retrieving electronic information, computer forensics clevers can assist forensic accountants with their investigations, providing them with additional background information as they guard their interviews and seek to understand wherefore and how a crime has been committed. Moreover, the evidence mustered by computer forensics professionals can sometimes provide the "smoking gun"

The use of computer forensics in any undertaking should not be fancy of as an additional service. With an ever-increasing percentage of the average person's daily life involving a certain quantity of form of electronic data manipulation, the time when each fraud investigation includes the words "...and ye we want their hard drive too" has arrived.

To further illustrate the importance of this relatively just discovered science, here's a look at couple investigations1 that benefited from the involvement of computer forensics experts

Case #1: The embezzler

As head of the accounts payable and accounts receivable department for Bright Blades, a small chain of lawnmower repair stores in BC, Marian had out and out control over the company's financial records. All purchases passed end her one-person office, and because the company was privately concedeed regular reporting of financial originates was not a regulatory requirement. Although Bright Blades was a family acknowledgeed and operated business, the possessors made sure that Marian, individual of a handful of non-family members working for the company, felt at place of abode Therefore it came as quite a surprise to the proprietors when the temporary bookkeeper hired as Marian's replacement (during an lengthen outed absence due to "illness") identified numerous accounting irregularities.

Unsure of the length of these accounting irregularities and of the amount of wealth that had potentially been misappropriated, the holders decided to place Marian forward suspension while undertaking a forensic review of the accounting records. Because a large number of documents were generated using customary bookkeeping software, the team of forensic accountants hired by means of Bright Blades included a computer forensic specialist.

The computer forensic specialist discovered that Marian had created sum of two units sets of accounting records-one detailing monies that should have been deposited to Bright Blades' bank account; the other containing numbers and account balances Marian had used to exhibit to the owners when she was queried about the status of the company bank balance accounts payable.

Perhaps the in the greatest degree damning evidence was a series of Internet websites, restoreed from an area of her hard drive that contained the delet files (investigators give in charge to this area as the "unallocated space" of the hard drive). The websites restoreed from this area revealed that Marian had newly been making a lot of online purchases for a fresh home. When asked about her Internet surfing habits during an interview-and specifically about the novel homeowner websites-Marian confessed that she had not solitary purchased a new house with the hold [i]or[/i] keep one's courses of her embezzlement, but was now in the proces of outfitting it with modern furniture and appliances.