Investigating the Cybercrime Scene

The crime scene where the investigator gains lawful access via consent or a court order may be commercial premises and/or the suspect's home address. This chapter is particularly relevant to law enforcement investigators but will apply to civilian investigators as well. While a digital crime scene will obviously look very different from a homicide scene, the principles surrounding the rules of evidence remain the same and the evidence must be dealt with at the standard the court demands. A pre‐event plan records many aspects of responding to a digital event, and the scene manager is in effect the detective who has control over the event from the start. The chapter discusses the many different aspects of scene management. It will take a very generic view of evidence identification, collection, and seizure, as the laws in each legal jurisdiction will vary.