A apprentice asked me an absorbing catechism today, apropos what I apprehend in the acreage of computer forensics in the advancing years: 5, 10, & 50. Here’s the question, my acknowledgment – and, baby reader, I’d adulation to apprehend your comments.
Mr. Burgess,
I would like to acknowledge you afresh for demography the time to allege with me. I would like to ask you addition catechism if you don’t mind, it is apropos the approaching challenges and/or issues in the acreage of computer forensics. In your able opinion, how do you see it 5, 10, and 50 years from now? I am attractive advanced to your response.
My response:
An absorbing question!
First, let me say that I don’t accept an able assessment about the future, aloof a claimed and accomplished one. In my profession, I can alone absolutely accept an able assessment about actuality I’ve formed on and so can’t accept one about the approaching until I get my time apparatus fixed!
5years
As for 5 years from now, I see three things continuing to beforehand at a accelerated clip:
1: Hardware -The admeasurement of accumulator media & anamnesis and the acceleration of processors.
I apprehend that in 5 years, computers will appear accepted with 5TB or added of accumulator and that carriageable media like beam drives will backpack article like 250GB of abstracts – what the boilerplate adamantine drive was captivation one or two years ago. In 5 years, computers will apparently be 7 or 8 times faster. So these things will authority lots and lots added abstracts and bodies will ample them up with lots & lots added data.Therefore, anniversary computer forensics job will crave allocation through and allegory abounding times added abstracts than today.
2: Computer Argumentative Accoutrement – The capabilities, automatic attributes and amount of computer argumentative tools.
I apprehend that in 5 years, computer argumentative accoutrement will be about 5 times as fast, and alert as sophisticated. That agency that alike with all the added data, the average, non-automated job will booty about the aforementioned accomplishment as it does now.
However, a lot of automatic accoutrement for accumulating and antecedent processing are starting to be released. These accoutrement can be acclimated by less-trained people, so it may be that abstracts accumulating and basic processing will be faster due to automation.
I apprehend that the amount of computer argumentative accoutrement will not go bottomward in about terms. However, added Open Source argumentative accoutrement will be accessible for chargeless for those accommodating to apprentice to use them.
3: Bad guys – Anti-forensics accoutrement & schemes, composure of hackers
There’s consistently a chase amid how adversecomputer application and cyber-marauders can be and the defenses adjoin them. There is alsocomputer application consistently actuality developed to butt analysis by abatement or scrambling traces of wrongdoing. This trend will abide to advance and there will abide to be an afraid antithesis amid the two sides, with lots of accessory damage. In best cases, bodies will abide to balloon to adumbrate or awning all of their advance and there will still usually be affirmation to find.
Ten Years.
Ten years from now is abundant harder to predict.
The acreage itself is not too abundant earlier than that.
Everything I said for the 5-year time anatomy will abide to be somewhat true.
Tiny accumulator accessories belief an ounce will authority assorted Terabytes of data; adamantine drives or their replacements will authority Petabytes and both kinds of accessories will be actual affordable.
Computers themselves may be absolutely altered than what we are acclimated to, will apparently accept animal accent able-bodied and will apparently be absolutely intelligent, dispatch up the adeptness to use them.
Because computers will be so smart, the role of the computer forensics examiner may change. Testifying experts will charge to accept an alike added adult ability of thecomputer application /hardware /wetware interactions and may accept to specialize further.
Malware may accept gotten the high duke by then, or may not accept – it is actual adamantine to say.
Fifty Years.
Just about absurd for me to say sitting area I am appropriate now. Computers will be abundant smarter than bodies by then. If animal computer forensics experts still affirm in court, they’ll be computer augmented, but afresh again, we apparently all will be.
Whatever replaces adamantine drives on your bounded accessory (if we accept bounded devices) will abundance bisected a Zettabyte or more. We’ll be accustomed about 5 Exabytes in our pockets or dental fillings. That’s if all accumulator isn’t in the Cloud and is about unlimited. Although from area I sit, a Petabyte seems appealing limitless.
Fifty years from now, our adversarial acknowledged arrangement may not accept afflicted much. On the added duke the capabilities of humans, computers, and hybrids of the two may be abreast unrecognizable, but still inevitable.
