COMPUTER FORENSICS

TODAY’S HIGH-TECH ENVIRONMENT PRESENTS NEW CHALLENGES TO LAW ENFORCEMENT AND THE JUSTICE SYSTEM,

as cybercriminals exploit computers, mobile devices, and the internet to threaten our banking, financial, and critical infrastructures. Digital technology is used to commit any and every type of crime. The Sheriff’s Office continues to address these challenges by having a digital forensics examiner dedicated solely to the extraction and analysis of digital devices and related activities.

The unit’s duties include examining, disassembling, reassembling, evaluating, extracting data, and interpreting data from computer hardware, smartphones, data storage devices, media storage devices, compact discs, DVDs, and detached or attached hard drives. In 2021, over 300 digital evidence items were collected and analyzed for the assigned Sheriff’s Office personnel responsible for the specific investigation to be presented in a court of law.

The Sheriff’s Office is a member of the Central California Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC). The Central California ICAC is dedicated to protecting children online and investigating crimes committed against children and are facilitated by the Internet and computer usage. The forensics unit works in conjunction with the Sheriff’s SAFE (Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement Team) in investigating these child exploitation cases.

The Computer Forensics Unit is part of the San Luis Obispo County Central Coast Cyber Forensic Laboratory (3CFL), under the management of the SLO County District Attorney’s Office. The unit works closely with allied agencies within the county to make these specialized capabilities available to their respective investigative units. Here, training and current expertise is shared on cyber-investigative techniques.

Advanced training and new equipment have continued to be made available for both computer and mobile device evidence recovery through a strategic partnership with the National Computer Forensics Institute (NCFI), the United States Secret Service, and the Sheriff’s Office. This aids in the effort to suppress the continually evolving and increasing number of electronic crime cases affecting the San Luis Obispo County community.