Forgotten But Not Gone — Digital Evidence Is Hard To Lose

If you’re tempted to hide evidence, don’t do it, especially if that evidence is digital.  Even before the prevalence of digital evidence chances were that you’d be discovered.  Multiple copies are often floating around, especially with medical records.  Details are often missed that show a document is missing or altered.  Not only is it likely to fail, but when you’re discovered you’ll be in an even worse position.  There will be no doubt that you’re a liar and everything you say will be tainted.

This story from “The Globe and Mail” details just how futile it is to try to hide digital evidence.  When you “delete” a file, you’re really only deleting the reference to it in a database, but the data referenced is still on the hard drive.  It is forgotten but not gone.  Forensic software can read that data.  Trying to cover your tracks by overwriting the hard drive just shows that you’re trying to hide something.