OPEN ETHICAL ISSUES IN DIGITAL FORENSIC SYSTEMS

Abstract

Digital forensic systems collect, filter, process, store and distribute data, to facilitate the investigational-cum-organizational decision-making process, as expected of any typical information system. These specialized systems are used to establish and understand the specifics of electronic incidents, after which information gathered could then be used to accurately identify and reprimand the parties abusing such electronic infrastructures as well as to stop any similar future incidents. However, due to the relative infancy of the digital forensic discipline as a whole and a number of other contributory factors, these systems infringe on and defy a lot of norms that have become acceptable to both individuals and organizations. This paper seeks to highlight the open issues within the digital forensic systems development and implementation area that border on ethics. The study employed a method which collected secondary data from related publications and analysed them to identify valid recurrent points. Recommendations are subsequently provided to each of the issues identified, with the aim of keeping the discipline’s stability and stakeholders’ expectations balanced.

Keywords

• Issues, Ethics, Information systems, Digital forensics, Decision making, Societal norms.