Stephen Blenkin

An Investigation into evidence (digital) artefacts resulting from the use of Cryptocurrency applications Stephen Blenkin

Is cash still king?
With card payments now overtaking cash for the first time ever as reported in media 2017 (morning advertiser, Accessed 2019) coupled with the rise of 1000s of cryptocurrencies, does this mean that cash now takes a back seat? Electronic transference of currency from one bank account to another anywhere in the world is not new, and with the strict guidelines that the banking institutions adhere to these transactions can be tracked from source to destination. However, some national banks; and indeed, some of the Governments that regulate them are not trustworthy. Chaum (1982) proposed 'blind' cryptography which protects payees' anonymity from invasion. The founder of Mt Gox said to be the world's largest Bitcoin exchange at the time; was charged and later convicted of instigating a drug auction site called 'Silk Road', selling illicit drugs on-line for payment to be made in Bitcoin only (Scannell, 2015). Criminals commit their crimes for profit therefore the digital currency is a perfect place for criminals to hide their financial affairs. Payments being made as a result of money laundering, blackmail, extortion or tax evasion, can be moved seamlessly to anywhere in the world with few or no records tying an individual to 'monies'. A digital wallet is used as an interface to your cryptocurrency, where you store and commit transactions. Creating a digital wallet can be done anonymously and does not need 'linking' to any financial institutions. A digital wallet allows purchasing of goods and services anywhere in the world anonymously by using your digital wallets address. After downloading a digital wallets executable program, it needs to be installed on the device being used. Part of this process entails producing a unique digital key or commonly known as a wallet's address. Currently Microsoft Windows could be classed as the de facto operating system worldwide, with Windows 10 being the latest version. Most owners are all too familiar with installing and uninstalling programs. Once an application has been uninstalled can analysis identify any evidence (digital) artefacts left on the host computer?