Dependability in the Time of Forensics

The paper discusses the digital forensics. More and more, the artifacts of the trade, computers and the software that drives them, are ending up in the courtroom, not necessarily as plaintiffs or defendants, but as aids in decision making or claims of effectiveness for triers of fact. When digital forensic evidence is used to incriminate or exonerate real people and the artifacts of their trade, that evidence must be credible and valid. Even the courts have weighed in on how to establish the suitability of evidence introduced into legal proceedings. A lack of experimental validity can prevent a result from generalizing beyond the strictures of a test procedure, or can completely demolish a claim. The paper provides examples of experimental or procedural invalidities and how to avoid them, thereby improving experimental outcomes. The paper conclude that when legal proceedings can determine people´s futures, dependability is of foremost importance in the time of forensics.