Computer Forensic Analysts

In the domain of cyber technology and the internet, it is composed of a vast array
of different individuals. Teachers, Businessmen, Content creators, Hackers, children,
and even more are online basically throughout every day. With so many different people around the world who also carry out vastly different online tasks, abide by different laws, and utilize the incredibly complex web in different ways, there are bound to be plenty of issues that threaten to plague the web. Naturally, cybersecurity is the way designed to combat these problems, developing ways to improve technology, educate people about the dangers, prepare for hacking attempts and more. However, cybersecurity and its components would have to be split into different fields and sections since cybercrime is a massive problem, and is about as serious as an in-person crime.
As serious as crime is, it would have to be treated as such, considering they share some of the same aspects. For instance, a real life crime would likely have a crime scene, consisting of various details(evidence) left behind during the action. Forensic analysts are able to use this evidence to understand the crime, gain a better understanding of the person who may have committed it, and possibly even predict what the perpetrator could possibly do next. Cybercrimes are no different, as there is also leftover data involved behind the scenes of the incident. The people tasked with observing this data are known as Computer Forensic Analysts, who use advanced techniques to retrieve the data themselves, and follow the trails right to the criminal. They may also partake in interviews with suspects sometimes, court proceedings, and interactions with law officials to even further their odds of cracking the case(Cyberdegrees, 2022). Overall, they prove to be crucial elements in solving cybercrimes.
This has quite a bit to do with social science and its research. One of the ways it relates to this research is through the process itself. The research process is simple, consisting of 3 phases in total, known as the observation phase, the rationalization phase, and the validation phase(2012, p.g. 20). The observation phase is the first one where you observe a phenomenon, such as when Forensic Analysts are tasked to retrieve information. The rationalization phase consists of making sense of or the observed
phenomenon by logically connecting the different pieces of the puzzle that was observed, forensic analysts doing this by looking at different components of the criminals data activity in order to gain a better understanding of them and their actions. Lastly is the validation phase, where they apply their knowledge from the previous phase, seeing if their findings were correct. This phase is where the analyst will try and predict what the perpetrator will do next based on the course of their actions.
Whether cybercriminals aim to hack someone for personal gain or for revenge, the bottom line is that they are doing damage to someone’s life. For some people and businesses, it may take days to months in order to fix the situation, while certain groups who are lower on the spectrum may be unable to recover, whether it’s economically, mentally, or even anything else. Marginalized groups are impacted the hardest in an event of a cyberattack(ACM, 2022). As digital forensic analysts are able to use their skills to uncover the motives of the perpetrator, they are also gaining a better understanding of the person, and maybe even the victim through interviews that could happen(Cyberdegrees, 2022). Overall, the digital forensic analyst is tasked with uncovering data that can be used to incarcerate the cybercriminal and greatly assist the victim in the recovery of their data or money if necessary, thus not only assisting marginalized groups, but anyone victimized in an attack.

Citations

Bhattacherjee, Anol. Social Science Research: Principles, Methods, and Practices.
Createspace Independent Publishing Platform, 2012.

Cyberdegrees. (2022, June 27). What is computer forensics? | Cyberdegrees.org.
Explore Cybersecurity Degrees and Careers | CyberDegrees.org.
https://www.cyberdegrees.org/jobs/computer-forensics/

“Privacy Research with Marginalized Groups: What We Know, What’s Needed, and
What’s Next.” Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction, 11 Nov.
2022, dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3555556.