Legal Issues Pertaining to the Development of Digital Forensic Tools

Developers of new and improved forensic tools need to design them with the end result of their use in court in mind. Law enforcement must be able to show that the forensic tools and techniques produce reliable evidence in order for a court to consider it. Reliability is enhanced by demonstration that the forensic tools conform to the general standards within the forensic community. In addition, forensic tools must have adequate safeguards to protect the privacy of the public. Designing forensic tools so that they produce audit trails may help to verify that the use of forensic tools is limited appropriately to comply with court authorization.