Privacy Impacts of Data Encryption on the Efficiency of Digital Forensics Technology

Abstract

Owing to a number of reasons, the deployment of encryption solutions are beginning to be ubiquitous at both organizational and individual levels. The most emphasized reason is the necessity to ensure confidentiality of privileged information. Unfortunately, it is also popular as cyber-criminals' escape route from the grasp of digital forensic investigations. The direct encryption of data or indirect encryption of storage devices, more often than not, prevents access to such information contained therein. This consequently leaves the forensics investigation team, and subsequently the prosecution, little or no evidence to work with, in sixty percent of such cases. However, it is unthinkable to jeopardize the successes brought by encryption technology to information security, in favour of digital forensics technology. This paper examines what data encryption contributes to information security, and then highlights its contributions to digital forensics of disk drives. The paper also discusses the available ways and tools, in digital forensics, to get around the problems constituted by encryption. A particular attention is paid to the Truecrypt encryption solution to illustrate ideas being discussed. It then compares encryption's contributions in both realms, to justify the need for introduction of new technologies to forensically defeat data encryption as the only solution, whilst maintaining the privacy goal of users.