E-mails have become the standard for business as well as personal communication. The inherent security risks within e-mail communication present the problem of anonymity. If an author of an e-mail is not known, the digital forensic investigator needs to determine the authorship of the e-mail using a process that has not been standardised in the e-mail forensic field. This research project examines many problems associated with e-mail communication and the digital forensic domain; more specifically e-mail forensic investigations, and the recovery of legally admissible evidence to be presented in a court of law. The Research Methodology utilised a comprehensive literature review in combination with Design Science which results in the development of an artifact through intensive research. The Proposed E-Mail Forensic Methodology is based on the most current digital forensic investigation process and further validation of the process was established via expert reviews. The opinions of the digital forensic experts were an integral portion of the validation process which adds to the credibility of the study. This was performed through the aid of the Delphi technique. This Proposed E-Mail Forensic Methodology adopts a standardised investigation process applied to an e-mail investigation and takes into account the South African perspective by incorporating various checks with the laws and legislation. By following the Proposed E-mail Forensic Methodology, e-mail forensic investigators can produce evidence that is legally admissible in a court of law.

81 Thesis title Substantiation of Electronic Evidence Abstract Thesis deals with the substantiation of electronic evidence within the framework of criminal procedure. The importance of the issue of obtaining such a category of evidence further intensifies as the technology continues to develop. The various types of crime perpetrators simultaneously leave behind digital traces with regard to almost all cases. Therefore, the author focuses on the issue, whether is it possible to obtain such an evidence effectively. The author concurrently takes into account the question of whether the process of obtaining electronic evidence meet certain threshold of protection of the fundamental rights and freedoms of an individual. Hence, the author analyses the characteristic of the individual relevant procedures. The issue of data retention, in other words the areal data collection and preservation in the light of recent case law as well as the possible adjustments to current legislation is subject to scrutiny. Attention is drawn, inter alia, to the novel procedure which enables preventive preservation of data important for the criminal proceedings. Furthermore, the author takes into account the issue of obtaining the content of the communication by means of electronic mail. Moreover, thesis deals with the partial...

Substantiation of Electronic Evidence Abstract The author focuses on the possibility of "misuse" of data as electronic evidence in the thesis. She describes specifics of electronic evidence and she points out that current technologies are so advanced that they are able to track and map the lives of individuals. The author simulates the investigation of the crime of murder, based on the idea, that thanks to the daily stored data on digital activity of persons in conjunction with GPS data, the physical activity of persons can be proven. She seeks to investigate this crime regardless of the regulation of fundamental human rights and freedoms only by electronic evidence. Eventually she assesses the procedure in the light of legislation. Finally, the author deals with the issue of confidentiality obligations of attorneys at law in connection with the use of electronic devices for the performance of their activities and she points out specifics of search of premises, where attorneys at law perform advocacy. Kristýna Jirounková Thesis 2021 Charles University, Faculty of Law

This study revolves around the admissibility of electronic evidence obtained during forensic accounting investigations. Electronic evidence is problematic for the forensic accountant, in that the courts have difficulties with the admissibility of electronic evidence. The research method used in this dissertation is a literature study or literature review. Firstly, the study aims to define a forensic accountant. The need for the forensic accountant is determined, as well as the definition and the roles and responsibilities of the forensic accountant. The study further aims to establish how the forensic accountant is regulated in South Africa. Secondly, this study aims to provide a historical overview of South African legislation that addresses electronic evidence. Applicable legislation is the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002, the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977, the Law of Evidence Amendment Act 45 of 1988, the Civil Proceedings Evidence Act 25 of 1965 and the repealed Computer Evidence Act 57 of 1983. To determine the challenges that arise from electronic evidence, it is critical to understand how electronic evidence is classified in terms of the traditional forms of evidence. Documentary evidence, real evidence and evidence as the product of an apparatus, with specific reference to electronic evidence, is discussed for the purpose of this study. Hearsay evidence, the originality of electronic evidence, as well as the authenticity and reliability of electronic evidence hamper the admissibility of electronic evidence. The impact of legislation on the aforementioned difficulties is considered in this study. The problematic nature of electronic evidence already creates challenges during legal proceedings. The forensic accountant can follow certain steps and procedures to better the chances of the admissibility of electronic evidence. This study establishes how electronic evidence should be gathered, stored and analysed by the forensic accountant in order to be admissible legal proceedings. Lastly, this study aims to determine how the UNCITRAL model, on which the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002 has been based, compares to the act (25 of 2002) itself. The legislation addressing electronic evidence in Canada and Australia is also considered. / MCom (Forensic Accountancy), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014.

L'économie numérique se fonde sur la confiance. Les législations nationales, le droit européen, mais également l'avant projet de loi libanais Ecomleb, ont pris en compte l'importance de la confiance dans l'économie numérique. En effet, les législateurs sont intervenus afin de surmonter les obstacles qui empêchent la conclusion du contrat conclu par voie électronique. Dans cette étude, nous avons analysé les règles juridiques relatives au contrat électronique afin de trouver un certain nombre de cohérences entre les règles de droit commun et celles relatives au contrat électronique, en particulier dans la phase de formation du contrat, avec le contenu de l'offre et de l'acceptation en ligne. Le contrat conclu par voie électronique peut faire l'objet d'un litige international, concernant les règles de compétences de juridiction et les lois applicables, question également envisagée. Enfin, nous avons constaté que la valeur juridique du contrat conclu par voie électronique dépend en principe de la valeur juridique de l'écriture et de la signature électronique, alors que tel n'est pas le cas en droit libanais, malgré l'existence de plusieurs projets de lois en la matière. / Numeric economics is based on confidence. National legislations, European law, as well as the project of Lebanese law Ecomleb, take into account the importance of confidence in numeric economics. Consequently, legislators have thrived to overcome the obstacles that may prohibit the conclusion of electronic legal contracts.In this study we have analyzed the legal regulations that govern electronic contracts in order to establish correlations with common law regulations. The contract formation phase, including the electronic offer content and acceptation, was particularly analyzed.In general, electronic contracts constitute an issue of great international controversy. Rules of competences of jurisdiction and the applicable laws are especially disputed.In conclusion, we have established that the legal value of electronic contracts depends to a great extent on the legal value of the electronic script and signature. Despite the presence of numerous projects concerning this subject in Lebanon, the established correlation does not apply.

D.Phil.

This study revolves around the admissibility of electronic evidence obtained during forensic accounting investigations. Electronic evidence is problematic for the forensic accountant, in that the courts have difficulties with the admissibility of electronic evidence. The research method used in this dissertation is a literature study or literature review. Firstly, the study aims to define a forensic accountant. The need for the forensic accountant is determined, as well as the definition and the roles and responsibilities of the forensic accountant. The study further aims to establish how the forensic accountant is regulated in South Africa. Secondly, this study aims to provide a historical overview of South African legislation that addresses electronic evidence. Applicable legislation is the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002, the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977, the Law of Evidence Amendment Act 45 of 1988, the Civil Proceedings Evidence Act 25 of 1965 and the repealed Computer Evidence Act 57 of 1983. To determine the challenges that arise from electronic evidence, it is critical to understand how electronic evidence is classified in terms of the traditional forms of evidence. Documentary evidence, real evidence and evidence as the product of an apparatus, with specific reference to electronic evidence, is discussed for the purpose of this study. Hearsay evidence, the originality of electronic evidence, as well as the authenticity and reliability of electronic evidence hamper the admissibility of electronic evidence. The impact of legislation on the aforementioned difficulties is considered in this study. The problematic nature of electronic evidence already creates challenges during legal proceedings. The forensic accountant can follow certain steps and procedures to better the chances of the admissibility of electronic evidence. This study establishes how electronic evidence should be gathered, stored and analysed by the forensic accountant in order to be admissible legal proceedings. Lastly, this study aims to determine how the UNCITRAL model, on which the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002 has been based, compares to the act (25 of 2002) itself. The legislation addressing electronic evidence in Canada and Australia is also considered. / MCom (Forensic Accountancy), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014.

The field of digital forensics is concerned with finding and presenting evidence sourced from digital devices, such as computers and mobile phones. The complexity of such digital evidence is constantly increasing, as is the volume of data which might contain evidence. Current approaches to interpreting and assuring digital evidence rely implicitly on the use of tools and representations made by experts in addressing the concerns of juries and courts. Current forensics tools are best characterised as not easily verifiable, lacking in ease of interoperability, and burdensome on human process. The tool-centric focus of current digital forensics practise impedes access to and transparency of the information represented within digital evidence as much as it assists, by nature of the tight binding between a particular tool and the information that it conveys. We hypothesise that a general and formal representational approach will benefit digital forensics by enabling higher degrees of machine interpretation, facilitating improvements in tool interoperability and validation. Additionally, such an approach will increase human readability. This dissertation summarises research which examines at a fundamental level the nature of digital evidence and digital investigation, in order that improved techniques which address investigation efficiency and assurance of evidence might be identified. The work follows three themes related to this: representation, analysis techniques, and information assurance. The first set of results describes the application of a general purpose representational formalism towards representing diverse information implicit in event based evidence, as well as domain knowledge, and investigator hypotheses. This representational approach is used as the foundation of a novel analysis technique which uses a knowledge based approach to correlate related events into higher level events, which correspond to situations of forensic interest. The second set of results explores how digital forensic acquisition tools scale and interoperate, while assuring evidence quality. An improved architecture is proposed for storing digital evidence, analysis results and investigation documentation in a manner that supports arbitrary composition into a larger corpus of evidence. The final set of results focus on assuring the reliability of evidence. In particular, these results focus on assuring that timestamps, which are pervasive in digital evidence, can be reliably interpreted to a real world time. Empirical results are presented which demonstrate how simple assumptions cannot be made about computer clock behaviour. A novel analysis technique for inferring the temporal behaviour of a computer clock is proposed and evaluated.

Master's thesis is focused on computer crime, with an emphasis on the process of investigation. New systematics in Czech computer crime terminology is offered. Within the thesis, cybercrime is perceived as a part of computer crime. Special attention is put on various aspects of criminalistics, as the topic of investigation itself is understood from the point of view of such science. Nevertheless, criminological findings are discussed likewise. Particular emphasis is put on a link between Czech legal regulation and expert literature from the fields of law, criminalistics, criminology and technology. Master's thesis is based on Czech literature, as well as English and French writings, in addition to national and international case law. The text itself is divided into three chapters. First chapter is introducing the issue of computer and cybercrime with selected criminological characteristics, including specifics of offending within the Internet. Second chapter discusses evidence of computer crime, the electronic or digital evidence, from the point of view of criminalistics. Particular problems of digital evidence usage within Czech criminal procedure are revealed. The core of master's thesis is the third chapter. Methodology of computer crime investigation is discussed, as well as selected individual...

The Internet has become important since information is now stored in digital form and is transported both within and between organisations in large amounts through computer networks. Nevertheless, there are those individuals or groups of people who utilise the Internet to harm other businesses because they can remain relatively anonymous. To prosecute such criminals, forensic practitioners have to follow a well-defined procedure to convict responsible cyber-criminals in a court of law. Log files provide significant digital evidence in computer networks when tracing cyber-criminals. Network log mining is an evolution of typical digital forensics utilising evidence from network devices such as firewalls, switches and routers. Network log mining is a process supported by presiding South African laws such as the Computer Evidence Act, 57 of 1983; the Electronic Communications and Transactions (ECT) Act, 25 of 2002; and the Electronic Communications Act, 36 of 2005. Nevertheless, international laws and regulations supporting network log mining include the Sarbanes-Oxley Act; the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and the Bribery Act of the USA. A digital forensic model for computer networks focusing on network log mining has been developed based on the literature reviewed and critical thought. The development of the model followed the Design Science methodology. However, this research project argues that there are some important aspects which are not fully addressed by South African presiding legislation supporting digital forensic investigations. With that in mind, this research project proposes some Forensic Investigation Precautions. These precautions were developed as part of the proposed model. The Diffusion of Innovations (DOI) Theory is the framework underpinning the development of the model and how it can be assimilated into the community. The model was sent to IT experts for validation and this provided the qualitative element and the primary data of this research project. From these experts, this study found out that the proposed model is very unique, very comprehensive and has added new knowledge into the field of Information Technology. Also, a paper was written out of this research project.