Ethical Hacking in Digital Forensics

The continuous adoption of technology in our daily lives has created an avenue for malicious individuals to exploit, especially as we regularly interact with these devices, sharing sensitive information such as health records, financial data, and personal details. Consequently, in our technologically advanced world, it is highly probable that crimes will encompass electronic devices, necessitating digital forensics investigations to unearth vital information for resolving these cases. However, due to the advances of these devices, digital forensic analysts may need to utilize hacking skills to either get into and/or investigate these devices. For the evidence acquired to be deemed acceptable in court, these hacking skills must be ethical. Ethical hacking in the field of digital forensics has become increasingly prevalent and valuable. By using the techniques and tools employed by the attacker, investigators can collect valuable digital evidence, preserve the integrity of evidence, and provide a comprehensive analysis for legal proceedings. However, the use of ethical hacking in digital forensics also presents ethical considerations. It is crucial to adhere to legal and ethical guidelines such as the anonymization of data, defining the scope of the investigation, and obtaining formal consent as part of ethical hacking activities. In this paper, we discuss the implications of using ethical hacking tools and procedures in digital forensic investigations, along with recommendations and guidelines to preserve the privacy, transparency, intellectual property, and data integrity of the evidence. Furthermore, we introduce four scenarios to show that ethical violations can occur during digital forensic investigations when the analyst uses hacking techniques.