What is a Computer Judicial Expert and what is its importance?

The work of Computer Judicial Experts consists of investigating technological facts using advanced computer tools. Their objective is to clarify when, how and by whom a certain technological event was carried out, providing clear and reliable evidence in legal proceedings.

Legal Perspective

The expert examines the case from a legal perspective, assessing whether the facts have legal implications. This approach makes it possible to connect the technological evidence with the applicable regulatory framework.

Technical Perspective

From a technical point of view, the analysis includes:

• Identification of sources of evidence: devices such as servers, computers or backups.
• Use of recognised protocols: to guarantee the validity and legality of the evidence obtained.
• Retrieval of relevant information: retrieval of documents, emails, records and more.
• Analysis of Internet activity: including digital traces and electronic fingerprints.
• Construction of chronologies: detailed recreation of events related to the investigated fact.
• Hidden data access: exploration of inaccessible areas on servers or devices.

Computer Forensics: An Evolving Science

Computer science is advancing at an incredible speed, and computer forensics is no exception. This discipline is constantly evolving, adapting to new technological challenges, such as the emergence of mobile devices, GPS technology, and other emerging fields. Our Computer Experts have the training and experience to keep up to date and provide effective solutions.

The Rise of Cybercrime

Massive digitisation has created the perfect environment for the rise of cybercrime, affecting both businesses and households. Among the most common crimes are:

• Computer sabotage.
• Hacking and data theft.
• Identity theft.
• Crimes against minors.
• Infringements against privacy, property or public administration.

What is the Importance of the Computer Judicial Expert in Court?

The judicial system is not always up to date on technological issues, which can make it difficult to understand complex cases related to computer crimes. For this reason, having the testimony of a specialised Computer Judicial Expert is essential to guarantee an accurate and well-founded technical analysis in any judicial process.

What are the areas of work of the Computer Judicial Expert?

• Preparation of computer expert opinions, both judicial and extrajudicial.
• Mediation and arbitration in computer-related conflicts.
• Obtaining and analysing digital evidence.
• Detection of electronic forgery.
• Penetration tests and computer security audits.
• Valuation and appraisal of computer assets, as well as damage caused.
• Recovery of intentionally deleted data and files.
• Identification of data theft, passwords and economic fraud.
• Monitoring and analysis of activities on social networks.
• Technical and legal advice in cases of cybercrime.

What questions does the Computer Judicial Expert answer?

• Who has had access to sensitive information or passwords?
• What type of information has been consulted?
• At what point in time was this information searched?
• Is it possible to breach an encryption system?
• What kind of activities do users perform on the system?
• Has confidential information been shared with unauthorised third parties?
• Is it feasible to access the print history?
• Have internal company policies been violated?
• Is there evidence of intentional damage by an employee?

Regarding possible theft:

• Has there been theft of private information, passwords or identity?
• Is there evidence of the theft?
• Who is behind the criminal act?

What functions does the Computer Judicial Expert perform?

The Computer Judicial Expert, like experts in other disciplines, can intervene in different stages of a negotiation or conflict: Expertise, Mediation and Arbitration.

The main task of an expert specialised in computer is the elaboration of expert reports related to technological facts. This process involves analysing how, by whom and when a potentially criminal event occurred. Generally speaking, the areas of intervention of an Expert include:

1. Preparing lawyers
   Lawyers, being generalist professionals, lack specific knowledge in certain areas. Therefore, Computer Judicial Experts are essential to explain complex technical situations and guide them in understanding the technical aspects of the case.
2. Technical advice
   The Expert provides technical and legal advice, combining their expertise in computer science with knowledge of the applicable law. This allows them to support lawyers in the evaluation of cases, analysis of complaints, lawsuits or legal proceedings, either in their defence or to initiate them.
3. Carrying out computer expertise
   This service consists of analysing a key fact of the case from an computer science perspective. The report can be useful both for opening negotiations between the parties and for the development of the judicial process. In the latter scenario, the report must be ratified before the judge or court. Expert reports can be requested by individuals, companies, associations, private organisations or the Administration.
4. Preparation of computer counter-examinations
   The counter-expertise is carried out to analyse and refute an expert report submitted by the opposing party. This analysis must be rigorous and supported by objective evidence and verifiable electronic evidence, with the aim of demonstrating errors or inaccuracies in the disputed report.
5. Advise in negotiation
   A Computer Judicial Expert can play a key role in reaching out-of-court settlements, thanks to his impartiality and objectivity. They can also act as mediator or arbitrator between the parties in conflict.
6. Ratification of the computer expert report
   After submitting the expert’s report, the Expert may be asked by the court to ratify his or her opinion. During this ratification, it is essential to explain clearly and in detail the findings to the judge or court, contributing significantly to the development of the case and, in many cases, to the success of the judicial process.

The Computer Expert Report

The computer expert report aims to analyse computer events with possible criminal components, providing information on how, when and by whom they were carried out. This analysis specifies the consequences of the event in a quantitative manner.

PJG’s computer judicial experts use advanced tools to perform analysis in various areas, such as computer forensics, identity theft, economic fraud, SPAM, network security, intellectual property infringement, DDoS attacks, mobile devices, and problems with software, hardware, databases and websites.

Due to the complexity of the technologies involved, experts must have advanced technical training and the ability to explain these complex facts in a way that is understandable to non-experts. In addition, it is essential that they possess the relevant official title to act as expert witnesses. The widespread use of technology in various areas of society makes computer expertise crucial in cases such as mobile device theft, e-commerce fraud and social media phishing.

What are the specialities of the ComputerJudicial Expert?

Find out about the main specialities of the computer experts of the Judicial Expert GROUP and the services we offer in each area:

• Storage
• Encryption
• Cryptography
• Data Management
• Illegal Downloads
• E-Commerce
• Electronic Mail
• Firewalls
• Computer Fraud
• Hardware
• Network Engineering
• Systems Engineering
• Online Marketing
• Hacking
• Online Privacy
• Intellectual Property in Computer Science
• Virtual Reality
• Social Networking
• Computer Security
• SEO Optimization
• Servers
• Software
• Spam
• Information Technology
• Web and Internet

When is a Computer Judicial Expert required?

A Computer Judicial Expert is essential when a civil or criminal case requires the analysis of an expert in the field, with a view to a trial. In particular, it is used to obtain computer evidence, such as WhatsApp conversations, audios, screenshots, messages, emails, accesses from different IP addresses, and more, which can serve as evidence for the judicial proceedings.

In general, a computer expert is required when it is necessary to find and locate electronic evidence on computers or mobile devices, which will help answer key questions about who, how, when and from where:

• Disclosure of private data, photos or videos.
• Deletion of files.
• Access to or theft of sensitive or confidential information.
• Corporate espionage and counter-espionage.

For your work to be considered reliable by the court, it is crucial that the chain of custody of computer evidence has been maintained. Failure to do so could invalidate the evidence or lead to challenges to it. Therefore, an expert computer expert is essential.

To process the evidence, the following steps are followed:

1. Identification: Determination of each potentially useful piece of evidence.
2. Acquisition: Complete forensic analysis to obtain digital evidence.
3. Preservation: Maintenance of the chain of custody of the evidence.
4. Analysis: Forensic study of each piece of evidence.
5. Presentation: Preparation of the computer forensic report.
6. Ratification: Appearance before the judge to explain the expert report.

In addition, an Expert Witness can perform computer security audits, forensic analysis, extract information from electronic devices, provide specific advice to victims, investigate evidence and reach conclusions based on it, defend the validity of digital evidence in court, among other tasks. It is important to highlight that the Expert acts as an auxiliary of justice, providing his or her final conclusions to the judge.

What are the services of the Computer Judicial Expert?

The services most requested by Computer Judicial Experts are the following:

1. Extraction of data from mobile devices and WhatsApp
   This consists of certifying the content of a mobile phone, including messages received, videos, audios, among others, to be used as evidence in legal proceedings.
2. Disk analysis and data recovery
   The expert carries out an analysis of storage devices (hard disks, workstations, servers, laptops, desktops, etc.) to identify deleted data, analyse data theft and detect intellectual property infringements.
3. Email and digital media
   Email verification is one of the main tasks of computer forensics, ensuring that emails have not been altered or forged. They also recover deleted messages from servers, storage devices, tablets, mobiles, etc.
4. Analysis of smartphones, tablets and mobile devices
   Forensic analysis of smartphones, tablets and other portable devices can provide critical and irrefutable evidence for a case. This work can include the recovery of deleted messages, call logs, documents and even geolocation at a specific point in time.
5. Electronic forensic database discovery
   The analysis and recovery of data on different operating systems allows for the verification of documents at a given point in time and the analysis of their content.
6. Computer forensics on other digital devices
   This refers to the extraction of data from GPS units, vehicle computer systems, autonomous cars, video game consoles, MP3 players, USB sticks, SD cards, among other devices.
7. Preparation of computer forensic reports
   The study and forensic analysis of computer media involves the planning of procedures, the investigation, the drawing of conclusions and the preparation of the computer expert’s report. Our experts are experts in ratifying the conclusions of their report before the judge, helping to resolve the most complex cases.
8. DDoS protection systems
   Analysis of protection systems, identification of vulnerabilities and study of attacks, evaluating the possible responsibilities derived from them.
9. Computer security
   This includes prevention, security measures, and the detection and evaluation of attacks. Judicial computer experts carry out security assessments and vulnerability tests, detecting security flaws in cloud applications, computers and other devices.

How much does a Computer Expert cost?

The cost of a computer expertise varies depending on several factors that determine its characteristics, among which are included:

• Computing environment: home, business or SME, large company, network, website, e-commerce, among others.
• Computer system: PC, Mac, servers, Windows, Linux, Ubuntu, Internet, etc.
• Dedication required: depending on the complexity of the case.
• Knowledge of specific applications: Oracle, Java, among others.
• Need to locate and preserve evidence.
• Requirement for covert investigation.
• Use of own equipment for analysis.
• Existence of encryption or specialised hardware.
• Management of complex cases: when several computers or litigants are involved.
• Possibility of counter-expertise.
• Urgency of computer expertise.

How to become a Computer Judicial Expert?

The main requirement to become a Computer Judicial Expert is to be a Computer Engineer, either a graduate or undergraduate, with five possible specialisations: Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, Information Systems and Information Technology. The required specialisation will depend on the specific case. In some cases, additional training in specific areas, such as database analysis, may be required.

It is important to clarify that being a Computer Judicial Expert does not imply being an expert in all areas, as the requirements vary from case to case.

How to become a Computer Expert

To become a Computer Expert, it is necessary to have the corresponding official qualification. In addition, there are two types of experts:

1. Judicial Expert: Works for individuals or companies, and must have complementary training in the specific area of litigation.
2. Court-Appointed Expert: Appointed by a court, they must be registered with professional associations or expert associations.

Although it is not compulsory, it is advisable to have civil liability insurance and to be registered as self-employed, as most of the work is billed independently.

Computer Expert Course

In order to work as a Computer Judicial Expert, a degree in Computer Engineering or in some other speciality with specific training and accreditation is required. There are several areas of computer crime, such as economic crime, cyber-terrorism, or intellectual property, which require additional knowledge to the basic qualification. Training courses can be offered to work as a Computer Judicial Expert in court.