CSEC661 Instruction and Criteria for Individual Assignment #3. Interview Methodology for Digital Forensics
CSEC661 Instruction and Criteria for Individual Assignment #3
Objective: Students will prepare an interview methodology and outline complete with instructions for the examiner. This will incorporate aspects of the interview process specific to a digital forensics examination. This will include developing a base interview script for interviewing victims, potential perpetrators, and other sources that can help provide insight into the investigation. Consideration should be given to developing an outline that documents information obtained from an interview.
Course Goals:
1. Develop and utilize a methodology for digital evidence collection, preservation, and analysis.
2. Develop incident response plan and procedures for a variety of digital forensic situations.
3. Evaluate environment for global/international influences and determine implications on forensic procedures.
5. Appraise appropriate digital forensic techniques for Network, Internet, and Cloud-based environments.
8. Incorporate validated forensic results into appropriate action plans, reporting, information sharing, and information archiving procedures.
Scenario:
Your purpose is to develop a methodology to standardize the interview process for digital forensic examinations, as well as share information across incidents. The methodology should be adaptable to a variety of situations and circumstances, and should have the ability to be modified and improved. Outlining the methodology will provide for consistency in investigations, as well as helping to ensure that information and processes are not overlooked.
Deliverables:
Develop an interview methodology for a digital forensic examination that includes instructions and definitions for the examiner. This could manifest itself as a series of forms and online resources. It is important that your product is readily available to an investigator (for example, an examiner may be in the field where web access isn’t possible). Be sure to include proper document support where appropriate. Deliverable should include an outline/overview of the methodology.
Interview Methodology for Digital Forensics
Date
Student’s Name
Interview Methodology for Digital Forensics
Introduction
The primary responsibility of a digital forensics interviewer is to gather information from the victim or the perpetrator regarding the details of the digital crime. Interview methodology is one of the traditional methodologies of collecting data that is still the viable and reliable method of collecting primary data from participants. In today’s digital era, a forensic investigator will be interested in interviewing victims or perpetrators of child pornography, cyberbullying, hacking, and internet fraud. Any online crime or a crime committed over the internet will attract the attention of a forensic investigator. For a successful interview process, the forensic examiner has to make enough preparation regarding information about the background of the case and the interviewee. The interviewer has to gather information about the interviewee’s criminal records, professional status, age, and occupational status. Availability of this prior information, before conducting an interview is necessary for standardized interview methodology. This paper provides a standardized approach for conducting forensic interview methods. The paper focuses on methods of conducting forensic interviews, including methods of collecting data and recording with the intention of providing the forensic examiner with resources at any time.
Interview Information Areas
The key to resolving digital crimes is hidden in the information that the forensic examiner collects from the victim or the perpetrator of the crime. During the interview process, new details may emerge that may help the forensic examiner uncover details about the interviewee and other people that may help in resolving the crime (Rowlinson, 2004). The successful interview process will require that the forensic examiner collects information about victims, their social and professional status, their area of occupation, level of education, as well as information about suspected perpetrators and their details. A standardized interview methodology will only succeed in areas where the interviewer is prepared with detailed information as well as the ability to a possible interpretation of the data collected. According to Ashcroft et al. (2014), there are different methods of conducting a digital forensic interview. However, the investigator should always answer simple questions like who, where, when, what, and why.
According to Mushtaque, Ahsan, and Umer (2015), the investigator should obtain a search warrant in the initial interview process. In cases where the crime involves a minor, the examiner should gather information as fast as possible to protect the minor from potential harm. In cases where the investigation is already determined, and the forensic examiner has acquired detailed information about the type of the crime, the investigator should resolve to start by creating a plan of action. The first item on the list should be the gathering of information, even if the forensic investigator has already acquired the information. This is necessary to compile a report. The digital forensic investigator should make sure that:
He evaluates his computer skills to avoid being misled by the fraudsters/perpetrators
Evaluates computer skills of the fraudsters to understand their level of knowledge and how they have been behaving
Gather enough details about the digital device and software that the perpetrators use Understand the online profile of the victim and the perpetrator
Understand the time that the perpetrator is mostly available online
Understand the apps and online software that the perpetrator uses and runs
Understand the network that the perpetrator uses
This will help the forensic examiner create a standardized interview methodology.
Interview Methodology
Once all the information is available, the forensic investigator can go ahead with the interview. The interviewer should, however, make sure that the following tools are available:
The list of questions
Checklist of the information gathered about the interviewee
Method of data recording
Privacy statement of legal compliance
Official papers about the participant
According to the United States Department of Justice report (2016) on forensic examination, the interviewer should be conducted in a comfortable environment. This implies that the digital forensic examiner can consider interviewing in an environment that the participant is comfortable with. For security purposes, the interviewer should consider the security risks involved in case one is dealing with a perpetrator with serious criminal records.
According to Shawyer & Milne (2017), the interviewer should create a comfortable environment that will help create rapport. One of th...