Forensics, or forensic science, is the application of science to questions that are of interest to the legal system. Digital forensics is the analysis of computers and other types of digital media to determine if they have been used for illegal or unauthorized activities, or if they are the "victims" of illegal attacks. Business and industry use digital forensics to gather internal information regarding intellectual property theft, fraud, network and computer intrusions, and unauthorized use of computers and other digital media including fax machines, answering machines, personal data assistants, cell phones, etc., to assist in employee termination, and both civil and criminal litigation. Law enforcement agencies use digital forensics to gather digital evidence for a variety of crimes including child pornography, fraud, terrorism, extortion, cyberstalking, money laundering, forgery, and identity theft. The military and government intelligence agencies use digital forensics to gather intelligence information from computers captured during military actions.
