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Speciation in the computing sciences: digital forensics as an emerging academic discipline

In evolutionary terms, speciation occurs when members of a species, pressured by the environment, diverge to the point where they are recognizable as separate species. This paper explores the concept as applied to Digital Forensics as a distinct academic discipline from other computing sciences. What are the pressures that have resulted in the emergence of Digital Forensics, how might the domain be defined and, what interdisciplinary connections does Digital Forensics have?This paper examines the domain content of Digital Forensics and its potential in the development of viable undergraduate and graduate degree programs to satisfy professional and scholarly demand.