The rise in cyber crimes has led to the demand for digital evidence analysts, says V. Kumara Swamy

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When a Bangalore-based information technology company suspected that one of its employees was sharing the development details of a high-end software with a competitor, it sought the help of R. Narayanan, a cyber forensics expert, to nail the culprit.

After analysing the computers and laptops involved in the development of the software, Narayanan’s team found that an iPod had been used to download some data from one of the computers. A cyber-forensic analysis of the iPod was conducted and finally the software was found on it.

Most people confuse a forensic expert and a cyber forensic expert. But their profiles are different. While the former is usually the first to reach a scene of crime and analyse fingerprints, bloodstains or any other kind of evidence to zero in on culprits, a cyber forensic expert has to look for a digital trail left behind by a cyber criminal.

“The demand for cyber evidence analysts is growing by leaps and bounds. It is one of the fastest-growing areas in the information technology security services,” says Vishal Kumar of the Asian School of Cyber Laws (ASCL), Pune. The main reason for this increasing demand for cyber forensic experts is the use of computer networks for corporate spying and espionage, electronic evidence being admitted in courts of law and law enforcement agencies needing the help of professionals to crack cases related to cyber crimes.

“In 2007 alone, more than 5,700 cases of website defacement were reported to computer emergency response teams set up by the government of India, not to talk about the countless frauds involving credit cards,” says Arif Ahmed, professor and director at the South-Asian Management Technologies Foundation, Calcutta.

As technologies advance, so does the area of digital forensics. Today, a cyber forensic expert is expected to cull and analyse every kind of evidence from cell phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), SIM cards, iPods and other devices. A cyber forensic expert is capable of retrieving any kind of information from these devices, even if the information is deleted.

“Cyber forensics is a very demanding career, with even law enforcement agencies approaching private companies for solving crimes related to computers. Private detective agencies are employing cyber forensic experts these days,” says C. Balan, deputy director, Resource Centre for Cyber Forensics, a part of the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), Thiruvananthapuram. C-DAC has introduced numerous devices that can be used by cyber forensic experts.

What has provided a fillip to cyber evidence is the Information Technology Act 2000 (ITA-2000) providing legal recognition to electronic evidence.

Foreseeing increasing threats, almost all the IT majors have set up their own “computer emergency response teams (CERT)” to handle cyber crimes within the organisation. “Companies normally avoid taking the help of law enforcement or other agencies to handle cyber crimes within the organisation because of negative publicity. They employ cyber forensic professionals to investigate and find the culprits,” says Narayanan, head of NJY, a Pune-based organisation that investigates cases of cyber fraud.

“According to our estimates, the country needs 20,000 e-forensic experts to book cyber criminals. The demand is likely to go up even further in the coming years,” says Dinesh Mhatre, director of the National Institute of e-Forensics (NIEF), Mumbai. He said the industry also needs people who can handle the latest cyber forensic equipment introduced from time to time by cyber security equipment manufacturers.

Tightening the Net:

We intend to hire cyber forensic experts to cater especially to the defence, government and financial sectors,” says Manjula Sridhar, founder and chief technology officer of Aujas, a Bangalore-based company that offers IT security services for “enabling digital defence”. Aujas plans to recruit around 500 people specialising in digital security in the next few years.

Many major companies such as Satyam, Mahindra and others have started cyber security solution divisions, where cyber forensic professionals can easily find jobs.

“A fresher could join as an engineer and work his way up to become a principal or lead consultant. Depending on the skills, one could move into management areas and head particular practices,” says Sridhar.

The pay packets are good too. “These professionals may start with a 25 to 50 per cent higher salary than computer science graduates. If they are good, the sky is the limit for these specialists. There are international opportunities as well,” says Na Vijayashankar, director, Cyber Law College, Chennai.

Although C-DAC offers postgraduate diploma courses as well as a certificate course in cyber forensics, these are specifically designed for law graduates keen on cyber forensics as their area of specialisation.

The University of Madras offers an MSc in cyber forensics and information security. The eligibility criterion is a BE or a bachelors degree in science. The Indian Institute of Information Technology, Allahabad, also offers an MSc in cyber law and information security. While the tuition fee for the former comes to around Rs 7,000 a year, the latter costs around Rs 11,000 per semester.

ASCL’s one-year cyber crime investigator course costs around Rs 19,000. It is an online course. Pune-based India Forensics is another organisation that offers a cyber forensic course related to accounting fraud. The South-Asian Management Technologies Foundation in affiliation with the West Bengal University of Technology has introduced a certificate course in cyber security and forensics. The course is open to graduates with a basic understanding of computers.

Mumbai-based National Institute of e-Forensics (NIEF) also offers short-term basic and advanced certificate courses in cyber forensics. The fee for a week-long course is around Rs 50,000. “We have the latest devices and students get hands-on experience. They are well equipped to deal with all kinds of cyber crimes,” says Dinesh Mhatre, director of the institute. NIEF is also planning a degree course in cyber security from the coming academic year.

Since cyber forensics is also closely related to the law, experts say that to be a successful cyber forensic professional one should have a good technical grounding and an understanding of evidentiary requirements. Chennai-based Cyber Law College will soon launch a full-fledged programme on techno legal cyber security and cyber forensics, covering both technical and legal aspects.

Sources: The Telegraph (Kolkata, India)