A Study on the Use of Artificial Intelligence for the Selective Search and Seizure of Digital Evidence

Our society is already experiencing the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Therefore, most of our lives are influenced by the technology of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. One of the core values of the 4th Industrial Revolution is to rebuild the real space in the virtual space by transferring information in the real space to the virtual space. As a result, all objects, movements, and attributes in the real space are digitized and stored. Amid these changes, the importance of digital evidence is already beyond analog evidence. However, investigations and trials of crimes are still conducted only in analog spaces. Therefore, a technical device that connects the digital world and the analog world is required. The problem is that digital evidence and related legal regulations are not sufficient in the current Criminal Procedure Act. Therefore, investigative agencies have a difficult task to collect digital evidence and prove guilt in accordance with precedents and internal regulations. Article 106 of the Criminal Procedure Act stipulates a method of confiscating digital evidence. The problem is that among the suspect’s numerous information, it is not easy to collect only information related to criminal charges without violating the suspect’s basic rights. Therefore, as a way to overcome such difficulties, a method of performing seizure using a technical method such as artificial intelligence is being considered. Therefore, as a countermeasure against it, first of all, ground rules for legal procedures must be prepared. In addition, the reliability of artificial intelligence application technology should be recognized from a trusted institution, and users should be able to control the artificial intelligence technology used for screening and seizure. As technology develops in the future, similar problems may continue to occur. Therefore, comprehensive research related to the digital evidence legal system and technology system is needed.