6 of the Best Free Linux Digital Forensics Tools
Digital forensics is a specialist art. It allows
investigations to be undertaken without modifying the media. Being
able to preserve and analyze data in a safe
and non-destructive way is crucial when using digital evidence as part
of an investigation, and even more so when a legal audit trail needs
to be maintained. Digital forensics can be used in a wide range of
investigations such as computer intrusion, unauthorised use of
computers including the violation of an organisation's internet-usage
policy, gathering intelligence from documents and emails, as well as
the protection of corporate assets.
We have extolled the virtues of open source software in many
of our previous articles. The debate between open source and closed
source software has often centered on factors such as freedom,
reliability, interoperability and open standards, support, and
philosophy.
In this instance, open source software offers a legal benefit,
as it can increase the admissibility of digital forensic evidence. This
is because open source tools enable the investigator and court to
verify that a tool does what it claims and makes it easier to prove
that the original drive has not been modified, or that a copy has not
been
modified.
Linux has a good range of digital forensics tools that can
process data, perform data analysis of text documents, images, videos,
and executable files, present that data to the investigator in a form
that helps identify relevant data, and to search the data.
To provide an insight into the software that is available, we
have compiled a list of 6 of our favorite digital
forensics tools. Hopefully, there will be something of interest here
for anyone who needs to undertake digital investigations.
So, let's explore the 6 digital forensics tools at hand.
For each application we have compiled its own portal page, a full
description with an in-depth analysis of its features, screenshots,
together with links to relevant resources and reviews.
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Last Updated Sunday, February 05 2012 @ 12:34 PM EST
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