Ethics and Privacy

The world is becoming more and more digitalized and so is the way that crimes are committed. It goes without saying that criminals act using digital means and digital environments play a big role in modern crime investigations. While this means that much information of evidentiary value can be found using various digital sources, the way in which the information can be accessed is controlled by law. It is an undeniable fact that many actions taken during a criminal investigation are, by definitionDefinition, actions that compromise the privacyPrivacy of the suspect and it is important to take note of that fact as a forensic examiner. This chapter discusses ethicalEthical (and legal) dilemmas that are part of the day-to-day life for a forensic examiner. The chapter will also present and discuss ethicalEthical questions concerning measures that are discussed or implemented around the world, such as police hackingHacking and key disclosureKey disclosure laws.