This is the first digital forensics book that covers the complete lifecycle of digital evidence and the chain of custody. This comprehensive handbook includes international procedures, best practices, compliance, and a companion web site with downloadable forms. Written by world-renowned digital forensics experts, this book is a must for any digital forensics lab. It provides anyone who handles digital evidence with a guide to proper procedure throughout the chain of custody--from incident response through analysis in the lab. - A step-by-step guide to designing, building and using a digital forensics lab - A comprehensive guide for all roles in a digital forensics laboratory - Based on international standards and certifications

Covers the complete lifecycle of digital evidence and the chain of custody. This handbook includes international procedures, best practices, compliance, and a companion web site with downloadable forms. It provides a guide to proper procedure throughout the chain of custody--from incident response through analysis in the lab.

Digital forensics has been a discipline of Information Security for decades now. Its principles, methodologies, and techniques have remained consistent despite the evolution of technology, and, ultimately, it and can be applied to any form of digital data. However, within a corporate environment, digital forensic professionals are particularly challenged. They must maintain the legal admissibility and forensic viability of digital evidence in support of a broad range of different business functions that include incident response, electronic discovery (ediscovery), and ensuring the controls and accountability of such information across networks. Digital Forensics and Investigations: People, Process, and Technologies to Defend the Enterprise provides the methodologies and strategies necessary for these key business functions to seamlessly integrate digital forensic capabilities to guarantee the admissibility and integrity of digital evidence. In many books, the focus on digital evidence is primarily in the technical, software, and investigative elements, of which there are numerous publications. What tends to get overlooked are the people and process elements within the organization. Taking a step back, the book outlines the importance of integrating and accounting for the people, process, and technology components of digital forensics. In essence, to establish a holistic paradigm—and best-practice procedure and policy approach—to defending the enterprise. This book serves as a roadmap for professionals to successfully integrate an organization’s people, process, and technology with other key business functions in an enterprise’s digital forensic capabilities.

Implementing Digital Forensic Readiness: From Reactive to Proactive Process, Second Edition presents the optimal way for digital forensic and IT security professionals to implement a proactive approach to digital forensics. The book details how digital forensic processes can align strategically with business operations and an already existing information and data security program. Detailing proper collection, preservation, storage, and presentation of digital evidence, the procedures outlined illustrate how digital evidence can be an essential tool in mitigating risk and redusing the impact of both internal and external, digital incidents, disputes, and crimes. By utilizing a digital forensic readiness approach and stances, a company's preparedness and ability to take action quickly and respond as needed. In addition, this approach enhances the ability to gather evidence, as well as the relevance, reliability, and credibility of any such evidence. New chapters to this edition include Chapter 4 on Code of Ethics and Standards, Chapter 5 on Digital Forensics as a Business, and Chapter 10 on Establishing Legal Admissibility. This book offers best practices to professionals on enhancing their digital forensic program, or how to start and develop one the right way for effective forensic readiness in any corporate or enterprise setting.

Electronic discovery refers to a process in which electronic data is sought, located, secured, and searched with the intent of using it as evidence in a legal case. Computer forensics is the application of computer investigation and analysis techniques to perform an investigation to find out exactly what happened on a computer and who was responsible. IDC estimates that the U.S. market for computer forensics will be grow from $252 million in 2004 to $630 million by 2009. Business is strong outside the United States, as well. By 2011, the estimated international market will be $1.8 billion dollars. The Techno Forensics Conference has increased in size by almost 50% in its second year; another example of the rapid growth in the market. This book is the first to combine cybercrime and digital forensic topics to provides law enforcement and IT security professionals with the information needed to manage a digital investigation. Everything needed for analyzing forensic data and recovering digital evidence can be found in one place, including instructions for building a digital forensics lab.* Digital investigation and forensics is a growing industry* Corporate I.T. departments investigating corporate espionage and criminal activities are learning as they go and need a comprehensive guide to e-discovery* Appeals to law enforcement agencies with limited budgets

Handbook of Digital Forensics and Investigation builds on the success of the Handbook of Computer Crime Investigation, bringing together renowned experts in all areas of digital forensics and investigation to provide the consummate resource for practitioners in the field. It is also designed as an accompanying text to Digital Evidence and Computer Crime. This unique collection details how to conduct digital investigations in both criminal and civil contexts, and how to locate and utilize digital evidence on computers, networks, and embedded systems. Specifically, the Investigative Methodology section of the Handbook provides expert guidance in the three main areas of practice: Forensic Analysis, Electronic Discovery, and Intrusion Investigation. The Technology section is extended and updated to reflect the state of the art in each area of specialization. The main areas of focus in the Technology section are forensic analysis of Windows, Unix, Macintosh, and embedded systems (including cellular telephones and other mobile devices), and investigations involving networks (including enterprise environments and mobile telecommunications technology). This handbook is an essential technical reference and on-the-job guide that IT professionals, forensic practitioners, law enforcement, and attorneys will rely on when confronted with computer related crime and digital evidence of any kind. *Provides methodologies proven in practice for conducting digital investigations of all kinds*Demonstrates how to locate and interpret a wide variety of digital evidence, and how it can be useful in investigations *Presents tools in the context of the investigative process, including EnCase, FTK, ProDiscover, foremost, XACT, Network Miner, Splunk, flow-tools, and many other specialized utilities and analysis platforms*Case examples in every chapter give readers a practical understanding of the technical, logistical, and legal challenges that arise in real investigations

Every computer crime leaves tracks–you just have to know where to find them. This book shows you how to collect and analyze the digital evidence left behind in a digital crime scene. Computers have always been susceptible to unwanted intrusions, but as the sophistication of computer technology increases so does the need to anticipate, and safeguard against, a corresponding rise in computer-related criminal activity. Computer forensics, the newest branch of computer security, focuses on the aftermath of a computer security incident. The goal of computer forensics is to conduct a structured investigation to determine exactly what happened, who was responsible, and to perform the investigation in such a way that the results are useful in a criminal proceeding. Written by two experts in digital investigation, Computer Forensics provides extensive information on how to handle the computer as evidence. Kruse and Heiser walk the reader through the complete forensics process–from the initial collection of evidence through the final report. Topics include an overview of the forensic relevance of encryption, the examination of digital evidence for clues, and the most effective way to present your evidence and conclusions in court. Unique forensic issues associated with both the Unix and the Windows NT/2000 operating systems are thoroughly covered. This book provides a detailed methodology for collecting, preserving, and effectively using evidence by addressing the three A's of computer forensics: Acquire the evidence without altering or damaging the original data. Authenticate that your recorded evidence is the same as the original seized data. Analyze the data without modifying the recovered data. Computer Forensics is written for everyone who is responsible for investigating digital criminal incidents or who may be interested in the techniques that such investigators use. It is equally helpful to those investigating hacked web servers, and those who are investigating the source of illegal pornography.

A practical guide to deploying digital forensic techniques in response to cyber security incidents About This Book Learn incident response fundamentals and create an effective incident response framework Master forensics investigation utilizing digital investigative techniques Contains real-life scenarios that effectively use threat intelligence and modeling techniques Who This Book Is For This book is targeted at Information Security professionals, forensics practitioners, and students with knowledge and experience in the use of software applications and basic command-line experience. It will also help professionals who are new to the incident response/digital forensics role within their organization. What You Will Learn Create and deploy incident response capabilities within your organization Build a solid foundation for acquiring and handling suitable evidence for later analysis Analyze collected evidence and determine the root cause of a security incident Learn to integrate digital forensic techniques and procedures into the overall incident response process Integrate threat intelligence in digital evidence analysis Prepare written documentation for use internally or with external parties such as regulators or law enforcement agencies In Detail Digital Forensics and Incident Response will guide you through the entire spectrum of tasks associated with incident response, starting with preparatory activities associated with creating an incident response plan and creating a digital forensics capability within your own organization. You will then begin a detailed examination of digital forensic techniques including acquiring evidence, examining volatile memory, hard drive assessment, and network-based evidence. You will also explore the role that threat intelligence plays in the incident response process. Finally, a detailed section on preparing reports will help you prepare a written report for use either internally or in a courtroom. By the end of the book, you will have mastered forensic techniques and incident response and you will have a solid foundation on which to increase your ability to investigate such incidents in your organization. Style and approach The book covers practical scenarios and examples in an enterprise setting to give you an understanding of how digital forensics integrates with the overall response to cyber security incidents. You will also learn the proper use of tools and techniques to investigate common cyber security incidents such as malware infestation, memory analysis, disk analysis, and network analysis.

Though an increasing number of criminals are using computers and computer networks, few investigators are well versed in the issues related to digital evidence. This work explains how computer networks function and how they can be used in a crime.

The Basics of Digital Forensics provides a foundation for people new to the digital forensics field. This book offers guidance on how to conduct examinations by discussing what digital forensics is, the methodologies used, key tactical concepts, and the tools needed to perform examinations. Details on digital forensics for computers, networks, cell phones, GPS, the cloud and the Internet are discussed. Also, learn how to collect evidence, document the scene, and how deleted data can be recovered. The new Second Edition of this book provides the reader with real-world examples and all the key technologies used in digital forensics, as well as new coverage of network intrusion response, how hard drives are organized, and electronic discovery. This valuable resource also covers how to incorporate quality assurance into an investigation, how to prioritize evidence items to examine (triage), case processing, and what goes into making an expert witness. - Learn what Digital Forensics entails - Build a toolkit and prepare an investigative plan - Understand the common artifacts to look for in an exam - Second Edition features all-new coverage of hard drives, triage, network intrusion response, and electronic discovery; as well as updated case studies and expert interviews