Towards Solving the Identity Challenge faced by Digital Forensics

The importance of digital forensics is on a steady rise. One of the biggest challenges posed to digital forensics is the identity challenge. The authors define the identity challenge as the difficulty to prove beyond reasonable doubt in a court of law that a specific person was using a specific identity of a digital subject at a certain time. In order to meet or at least decrease this challenge, organised action within the digital forensics field is needed. The authors propose a set of requirements to be introduced within digital forensics in order to help solve this issue. These requirements include the following: defining the principles of digital identity within digital forensics; introducing strong authentication methods for all information systems and electronic devices; introducing digital signatures for all transactions within information systems and electronic devices; constant interaction with other relevant fields and last but not least, putting an end to internet anonymity. The authors believe that, if implemented, the proposed requirements would not only bring about the higher admissibility of digital evidence related to digital identity in a court of law, but also increase the efficiency of digital forensic investigations.