Digital Forensic Evidence

Digital Forensic Evidence is a kind of evidence that is obtained from computers, iPads or tablets, other electronic storage devices like USB’s and mobile phones. 

This sort of evidence will sometimes be relied on and obtained by the prosecution in a matter. It is also something that can be obtained by an accused person in defence of their matter. 

It is common to see Digital Forensic Evidence used by police in matters involving Child Abuse Material, Fraud (particularly financial fraud) and any matter where communication sent digitally might be relevant. 

What Evidence can be obtained via Digital Forensic Evidence?

Investigating Police will commonly use a program called “Cellebrite” to do a digital download of a device they are examining. 

There is a great deal of variation of what data might be contained in a Cellebrite report that is provided in a brief. These kinds of reports can access:

1. Text message history from a variety of messaging apps;
2. Internet browsing history;
3. Phone call history;
4. Photographs and video files; and
5. Emails.

The report will often be able to identify things in the above categories that have been deleted, and at times, will be able to recover those deleted files. 

In addition to getting access to copies of the above things, importantly, meta data will often be available for these files. This could include information about:

1. Where the file came from and how;
2. When it was downloaded;
3. Whether it has been accessed; and
4. Whether it has been modified.

Challenging Prosecution Digital Forensic Evidence

It is incredibly important to ensure that you properly understand any digital forensic evidence that is served as part of a police brief.  

Often, reports containing forensic evidence are served without any accompanying expert statement that actually explains what the data in that report means. Terms and labels in those reports can’t be taken on face value and need to be understood properly.

It can often be advantageous in circumstances where Digital Forensic Evidence is served by the police, to engage your own independent expert to examine that data. 

Not only can that person provide advice about what the report served by the police actually means (or importantly, doesn’t mean) but arrangements can also be made for your own expert to inspect the device the police examined themselves, and produce their own report (which might well be more detailed and cover more relevant things than the report that was provided by the police). 

Using Digital Forensic Evidence as part of your Defence

Engaging a Digital Forensic Evidence expert as part of your case can be incredibly important. It is not unusual for this kind of evidence to become a critical part of a defence strategy, and in some instances can lead to withdrawal of charges without the matters proceeding to hearing. 

It is important to seek legal advice about:

1. The right expert to brief for the job required;
2. What precisely the expert should be briefed to review and look at; and
3. What, if anything from your expert should be disclosed to the police prior hearing.

For advice or representation in any legal matter, please contact Armstrong Legal.