Email Forensics Investigator – Challenges and Techniques
Email Forensics is basically a way of taking out the data of an email, or we can say that identifying the recipient or sender and all other details of particular email messages that is been used as evidence. It also involves the investigation of metadata, keywords, and authorized access to an email. Also, observe the files attached file and documents and the IP address from which it is been sent.
Who is Email Forensics Investigator?
An Email Forensic Investigator is the one who identifies the email in a preferred concept and makes a complete report on it. An Email Forensic Investigator have multiple skills that are:
1. Ability to Learn and Transform
Since Email Forensics Investigation is not a 9hrs job, so Investigator should need to put more of his time and effort and also have the desire to put their time into most of the researching and learning that helps in the investigation.
2. Communication Skills
He / She must have good communication skills and an Investigator need to have the ability to present the complex evidence in a simple manner that will be easy to understand especially for non-tech persons. Email Forensics also have the role to include the witnesses and understand their information what they usually see and what they know to present properly in front of the court.
3. Technical Knowledge
It is important for an Email Forensics Investigator to be from a technical background and have a broad knowledge of technicalities. And, also have the skills in a specialized area or in any specialized devices.
4. Investigator’s Mindset
This is one of the core and hard skills to learn because it is necessary for investigator to instantly have a complete list of questions while working on evidence. He needs to be able to work as a part of a team and also have the ability to work independently.
What are the Challenges Faced by Email Forensics Investigators?
As an Email Forensic Investigator, a person needs to face multiple challenges that are:
1. Fake Emails:
One of the main challenges in Email Investigation is the use of fake emails by criminals by operating and authoring different headers. Criminals take the help of some transitory emails that enables a receiver to get a temporary email that will expire after some certain time period.
2. Spoofing:
It is basically an action when the criminal tries to diagnose the communication from an unknown IP Address and thus the system will receive both the original as well as Fake Address.
3. Anonymous Re-Emailing:
Here, the email server shreds the original information before forwarding it to further destinations. It leads to one of the biggest challenges for the Email Forensic Investigator to identify the information.
How do Investigators Investigate an Email in Forensics?
Email Forensics is basically a study of an entire email from the source. And other data matched with it such as date and time, transmission, and intention.
According to Anuraag Singh, Digital Forensics Trainer, some of the main techniques are:
1. Email Header Analysis:
It is one of the main techniques that initiate the Investigation. Here, analysis of metadata and other email header contents is done. And, helps in identifying the majority of crimes using email relations.
2. Investigation of Server:
Multiple copies of emails investigate from its source including the intentions. And also, the delete copies of emails whose restoring is not possible and requests from the server as they store the data of all the emails. After that, IP addresses will be scanned for multiple emails. And it becomes necessary for Investigators to carry out the Email Transactions.
3. Network Device Investigation:
Investigators maintained the records of all networks utilities such as firewalls, routers, and different switches to identify the initiation of a particular message. This type of Investigation is difficult and is been occupied by the listings of the server.
4. Software Embedded Identifiers:
Accessing the data of Email in multiple constraints such as Email attachments and files, and other data in the email by the Software used by the sender. This basically includes multiple client-side preferences and options that help the client to find out the criminal.
5. Fingerprints of Sender Mailer:
Identification of fingerprints can be done from the side of the sender by using the different set of headers “X-Mailer” or equivalent. It will describe headers and their versions used by the clients to send e-mail. And this type of information helps investigators to find out the culprit as soon as possible.
At the End
Just wanted to say that becoming Email Forensic Investigator is one of the learning careers. People enjoyed themselves a lot and transform themselves day by day. Those, who want to become Email Forensics investigators should start learning from today onwards and you can also Contact for the Same.
