Contrary to what television tells you with shows like CSI or NCIS, the most advanced criminal investigation techniques are not taking place in a lab, but at a computer terminal. Today's top cops are getting the job done through advanced computer algorithms, tracking and nabbing the bad guys with methods that were not even imaginable fifty years ago. Now, more than ever, criminals are being caught less with a test tube and fingerprint duster, but more through advanced computer applications.
This digital forensic science is has two primary applications. The first is involves actual analysis of a computer. Computers are used every day to commit or facilitate crime. It is scary, but with extensive aspects of our lives available through online databases (including social media), it is much easier for criminals to determine information about their pray. The flip side to that is that it is also much harder for the predators to hide from authorities once they become the prey. Investigators have terrific tools at their disposal to backtrack cyber crime and determine who the perpetrator was. The best computer forensic technicians can analyze a suspect's hard drive to determine how it was used and sometimes even who used it for that purpose.
The second application for forensic science involves using computers to do law enforcement tasks that are more traditional. For example, things like tracking location via credit card use or cell phone triangulating involve are run through computer programs. There are even more advanced technologies like facial identification software and voice print identification that use complicated algorithms to aid police in solving cases. Unless you live in extreme rural areas, you can run, but you can never hide.
Ultimately, it becomes harder and harder to cover your physical and cyber tracks. But rest assured, while identity theft is becoming for prevalent, computer forensics professionals who catch the thieves are constantly improving their own methods as well.
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