New Information Components in the Formation of Electronic Evidence in Criminal Cases (the Modern Trail of Electronic-Digital Traces)

This work aims to examine the trace picture in cyberspace under contemporary conditions. The concept of a digital trail (in our treatment—electronic-digital) was proposed by V. B. Vekhov back in 2008 and refined in later publications. Tracking the trail of electronic-digital traces is of key importance in investigating crimes involving the use of information-technology devices. However, numerous new forms of information and means of concealing traces in cyberspace have now emerged. Certain modern concepts in electronics substantially influence the transformation of the electronic-digital trail, introducing significant changes into its chain, creating gaps, diverting it, anonymizing the start and/or end point of a request, fragmenting and hiding traces. The aim of the paper is to reveal the specifics of the trail in the context of non-classical forms of placement and use of electronic information. The article analyzes how the trail changes when using virtual machines with multi-level nesting and virtualization tools (e.g., VPN services), polymorphic programs, distributed and cloud information, blockchain, RAID arrays, means of concealing the electronic-digital trail, and certain promising developments in computer technology. The study relies on dialectical materialism as a general method and on general scientific methods (analysis, synthesis, modeling, extrapolation, etc.). As a result, specific properties and characteristics of the electronic-digital trail are identified for the concepts considered in the sphere of electronic information. It is established that new concepts in the field of electronic information significantly alter the trace picture in cyberspace and require specific approaches; therefore, research at the intersection of technical sciences, programming, and criminalistics is of particular importance—research that reveals the distinctive features of new technologies and forms of information and that requires the development of specific forensic recommendations. Given ongoing scientific and technological progress, such research must accompany technological innovations on a permanent basis and, in some cases (e.g., quantum technologies), be forward-looking, providing law-enforcement authorities with effective tools even before the technologies themselves are widely disseminated and used for criminal purposes.