Teaching Legal and Courtroom Issues in Digital Forensics

Legal and courtroom issues relevant to digital forensics are expansive and varied, ranging from adherence with procedural evidence rules for searching/seizing digital material and ensuring reliability of the evidence produced, to the subsequent presentation of that evidence in a court of law. Given the professional and contextual requirements of the UK legal system and the current digital environment, it is essential that computer forensic students learn how to adhere to the relevant established procedures which comply with UK legal, regulatory and evidentiary requirements for digital forensics. Undergraduate degree programmes need to address the preservation of digital forensic integrity and continuity, in addition to comprehensively exploring the technological issues arising during a digital forensic investigation. This paper addresses the need for effective integration of legal and courtroom issues into the broader digital forensics degree curriculum to ensure employability within the profession. It highlights the approaches, challenges and solutions identified thus far by Northumbria University in their Computer Forensics degree programme delivery whilst considering potential career pathways and work-based activities for graduates. The paper concludes with a discussion of the challenges facing those teaching legal and courtroom issues to computer forensic students, making recommendations for ensuring maximum employability of students upon graduation.