A Comparative Study of Forensic Science and Computer Forensics

As the internet has reached every corner of the world as well as every aspect of our life, illegal activities go with it as well. In dealing with this phenomenon, a new professional and academic field, computer forensics, has emerged since the beginning of this century, The growth and advance of the new field has been steady, mainly because it has been following the path of forensic science due to the similarities between the two fields, as well as professionals’ experience and understanding of the field. As forensic science has been challenged and asked to have a major overhaul by a congressionally mandated report recently, where should computer forensics go? Based on a comparative study in various facets of both forensic science and computer forensics, some suggestions and considerations have been drawn in this paper, which imply that computer forensics may need to reposition itself to better promote the field over the long run.