Foresically sound or not?

C64’sForensic examination?!

For what reason? What on earth would be stored on there? A couple of saved games and maybe some code half complete from “Input” magazine!? (remember that..).

Anyhow, my question about the below is, there are methods of connecting up parallel ports and floppy drives to transfer data from a C64, however, someone said to me that this was not ‘forensically sound’. What would one do in the situation whereby there is potentially information held within a system, but the only way you could get it was by using a non-forensically sound method. Surely if it was all audited and logged by a third party, this would be enough for any court to accept it as evidence? What would you do in this situation? Answers on a postcard, (or by comment or email!)Martin.

Taken from Guardian Online:

 ”the kidnapping of Natascha Kampusch has been complicated by the discovery of an obsolete computer in the house where she was held, Austrian police said today. Officers have been surprised to find that the kidnapper, Wolfgang Priklopil, a communications technician, appeared to have relied exclusively on a Commodore 64. The beige-coloured machine was popular in the 1980s but is now considered an antique, though some electronic dance acts still use it and it has a cult following among some fans of retro computers. It was hoped that the computer might contain information which might shed more light on the decision of Priklopil, 44, to snatch Ms Kampusch, when she was aged 10, in March 1998. However, Major General Gerhard Lang of the Federal Criminal Investigations Bureau, told reporters the computer would complicate investigators’ efforts to transfer files for closer examination. There are emulators available which can make a modern PC capable of running Commodore 64 programmes but Maj Gen Lang said it would be difficult to transmit the data from Priklopil’s machine to a modern computer “without loss”.

from  http://www.guardian.co.uk/austria/article/0,,1865500,00.html