Fighting Crime With Digital DNA

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  AP

DNA evidence is widely accepted in courtrooms. And now, so is our "Digital DNA" -- those trace zeroes and ones we leave behind on computer systems, in our smartphones, beneath the hoods of our cars and more.

"Digital evidence is the new DNA," Ira Victor, a forensic analyst with Data Clone Labs and a member of The High Tech Crime Investigator's Association (HTCIA), told FoxNews.com.

Last week the Supreme Court took a first stab at addressing how such evidence can be used, hearing arguments from the Justice Department defending the use of GPS devices planted on suspects' vehicles. But that's just one aspect of a growing body of data: From digital photographs to cellphones to emails and Word documents, we all create a trail that law enforcement agencies are increasingly using to put crooks at the scene of their crime.

Heck, even the Doobie Brothers are doing it.

Jeffrey "Skunk" Baxter a founding member of Steely Dan (he played guitar on "Rikki, Don't Lose That Number") and a current member of The Doobie Brothers, is also a contractor for a number of U.S. government agencies and an advisor on terrorism, cyber-warfare and forensic analysis.

"I want your help," Baxter told attendees at Paraben's Forensic Innovations Conference (PFIC), a leading conference on digital investigations in Utah that wrapped up Nov. 9. It called for the increased use of digital forensics in courtrooms and cases.

But with increasing prevalence comes an increasing risk of abuse. The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) told the Supreme Court last week that information from GPS devices could easily be abused.

"The proliferation of GPS tracking technology creates … detailed travel profiles of American citizens," the group wrote. "Law enforcement access to such information raises the specter of mass, pervasive surveillance."

Victor agrees. "Attorneys are very good at taking digital evidence out of context and then convincing a jury of the guilt of someone based on it," he said. 

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/11/18/fighting-crime-with-digital-dna/#ixzz1eBm4zuzW