Digital Forensics

Digital forensics is a branch of the forensic sciences which is focused on the recovery and investigation of material found on digital media. Increasingly, digital forensics technology is used in cultural heritage settings to work with the various types of electronic media within collections. Digital forensic tools and methodologies are concerned with many of the same issues that challenge digital archivists: safe recovery of electronic files, and the authenticity and reliability of the electronic file as a historical document.

Archivists, with the help of the Libraries IT Department, are investigating tools and software like BitCurator, FTK Imager, and Metadata Extraction Tool from the New Zealand National Library, among others, to work with historical material found on digital media.