Crime investigations and common mistakes when detecting and withdrawing the evidence of cyber criminal actions

Abstract

Telecommunication technologies made it possible for the society to use both real (material) and virtual space. Some actions injuring social relations fall under the criminal legislation prohibition: Articles 272, 273, 274, and 274.1 of the RF Criminal Code. The investigated crimes committed in the material world have a large tried and tested investigative and judicial practice, but the investigation of cyber crimes has a weak empirical base and a limited scientific experience. This indicates the existence of a criminalistically significant problem and the necessity of its solution. The paper presents the list and brief criminalistic overview of common mistakes made by investigative authorities when detecting and withdrawing the evidence of cyber crimes. Based on the system-comprehensive approach, the author gives an overview of information computer network elements criminalistically significant for an investigation; carries out the analysis of the implementation of evidentiary law provisions when investigating crimes in the telecommunication space. In conclusion, the author explains the digital footprint universal nature and enumerates typical mistakes when detecting and withdrawing the evidence of cyber criminal acts. The paper states that such order of things sets before the scientists and practitioners the task of improving forensic methods, tools, and tactics for detecting traces of a crime in the information (virtual) space and their procedural legal enshrinement. The author proposes a direction of solving this problem. It does not indicate the necessity to revise the existing evidentiary law theory and to supplement it with new procedural aspects fixing special characteristics of digital information. The author highlights that the mistakes made by investigators are not caused by the gaps in scientific knowledge of a forensic or legislative nature. The problem solution lies in the practical plane of the IT-technologies knowledge improvement by the investigators conducting the examination.