Moves beyond the basics and shows how to use tools to recover and analyse forensic evidence.

The Definitive Guide to File System Analysis: Key Concepts and Hands-on Techniques Most digital evidence is stored within the computer's file system, but understanding how file systems work is one of the most technically challenging concepts for a digital investigator because there exists little documentation. Now, security expert Brian Carrier has written the definitive reference for everyone who wants to understand and be able to testify about how file system analysis is performed. Carrier begins with an overview of investigation and computer foundations and then gives an authoritative, comprehensive, and illustrated overview of contemporary volume and file systems: Crucial information for discovering hidden evidence, recovering deleted data, and validating your tools. Along the way, he describes data structures, analyzes example disk images, provides advanced investigation scenarios, and uses today's most valuable open source file system analysis tools—including tools he personally developed. Coverage includes Preserving the digital crime scene and duplicating hard disks for "dead analysis" Identifying hidden data on a disk's Host Protected Area (HPA) Reading source data: Direct versus BIOS access, dead versus live acquisition, error handling, and more Analyzing DOS, Apple, and GPT partitions; BSD disk labels; and Sun Volume Table of Contents using key concepts, data structures, and specific techniques Analyzing the contents of multiple disk volumes, such as RAID and disk spanning Analyzing FAT, NTFS, Ext2, Ext3, UFS1, and UFS2 file systems using key concepts, data structures, and specific techniques Finding evidence: File metadata, recovery of deleted files, data hiding locations, and more Using The Sleuth Kit (TSK), Autopsy Forensic Browser, and related open source tools When it comes to file system analysis, no other book offers this much detail or expertise. Whether you're a digital forensics specialist, incident response team member, law enforcement officer, corporate security specialist, or auditor, this book will become an indispensable resource for forensic investigations, no matter what analysis tools you use.

Computer Forensics in Today's World" is a comprehensive guide that delves into the dynamic and evolving landscape of digital forensics in the contemporary era. Authored by seasoned experts in the field, this book offers a thorough exploration of the principles, methodologies, techniques, and challenges of computer forensics, providing readers with a deep understanding of the critical role forensic investigations play in addressing cybercrimes, security breaches, and digital misconduct in today's society. The book begins by introducing readers to the fundamental concepts and principles of computer forensics, including the legal and ethical considerations, investigative processes, and forensic methodologies employed in the examination and analysis of digital evidence. Readers will gain insights into the importance of preserving evidence integrity, maintaining chain of custody, and adhering to best practices in evidence handling and documentation to ensure the admissibility and reliability of digital evidence in legal proceedings. As readers progress through the book, they will explore a wide range of topics relevant to computer forensics in contemporary contexts, including: Cybercrime Landscape: An overview of the current cybercrime landscape, including emerging threats, attack vectors, and cybercriminal tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) commonly encountered in forensic investigations. Digital Evidence Collection and Analysis: Techniques and methodologies for collecting, preserving, and analyzing digital evidence from various sources, such as computers, mobile devices, cloud services, social media platforms, and Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Forensic Tools and Technologies: A survey of the latest forensic tools, software applications, and technologies used by forensic investigators to acquire, analyze, and interpret digital evidence, including disk imaging tools, memory forensics frameworks, and network forensic appliances. Legal and Regulatory Framework: An examination of the legal and regulatory framework governing computer forensics investigations, including relevant statutes, case law, rules of evidence, and procedural requirements for the admission of digital evidence in court. Incident Response and Crisis Management: Strategies and practices for incident response, digital crisis management, and cyber incident investigation, including incident triage, containment, eradication, and recovery procedures to mitigate the impact of security incidents and data breaches. Digital Forensics in Law Enforcement: Case studies, examples, and real-world scenarios illustrating the application of computer forensics principles and techniques in law enforcement investigations, criminal prosecutions, and cybercrime prosecutions. Forensic Readiness and Preparedness: Best practices for organizations to develop and implement forensic readiness and preparedness programs, including policies, procedures, and incident response plans to enhance their ability to detect, respond to, and recover from cyber incidents. Ethical and Professional Considerations: Ethical principles, professional standards, and guidelines that govern the conduct, behavior, and responsibilities of forensic investigators, including confidentiality, integrity, impartiality, and accountability in forensic practice. Future Trends and Emerging Technologies: Anticipated trends, developments, and challenges in the field of computer forensics, including advancements in forensic techniques, tools, technologies, and methodologies, and their implications for forensic investigations in the digital age. Case Studies and Practical Examples: Real-world case studies, examples, and practical exercises that illustrate the application of computer forensics principles and techniques in solving complex investigative challenges, analyzing digital evidence, and presenting findings in legal proceedings. "Computer Forensics in Today's World" is designed to serve as a comprehensive reference and practical guide for forensic practitioners, cybersecurity professionals, law enforcement officers, legal professionals, and students seeking to gain expertise in the field of computer forensics. With its comprehensive coverage of key topics, practical insights, and real-world examples, this book equips readers with the knowledge, skills, and tools necessary to navigate the complexities of modern forensic investigations and effectively address the challenges of digital forensics in today's interconnected world.

Windows is the largest operating system on desktops and servers worldwide, which means more intrusions, malware infections, and cybercrime happen on these systems. Author Harlan Carvey has brought his bestselling book up-to-date by covering the newest version of Windows, Windows 7. Windows Forensic Analysis Toolkit, 3e, covers live and postmortem response collection and analysis methodologies, addressing material that is applicable to law enforcement, the federal government, students, and consultants. The book is also accessible to system administrators, who are often the frontline when an incident occurs, but due to staffing and budget constraints do not have the necessary knowledge to respond effectively. Now the companion material is hosted online as opposed to a DVD, making the material accessible from any location and in any book format.

Understanding the underlying system of how files are stored, what happens when they are deleted, and how to potentially recover them is essential to the digital forensic examiner. Today's computer forensic tools automate the process of file recovery, but understanding what those tools are accomplishing and knowing whether they are providing accurate results requires an understanding of the information provided in this text. The FAT and NTFS file systems are the most commonly utilized information storage methods and while there are many other methods available, concentrating on these two lays the foundation for learning the others in the future. A brief introduction of ExFAT is included, as it is a relatively new file system used with larger flash drives. Forensic Examination of Windows-Supported File Systems will provide the basis for this knowledge and the practical expertise to begin the journey of becoming a digital forensic scientist.

The quantity, diversity, and sophistication of Internet of Things (IoT) items are rapidly increasing, posing significant issues but also innovative solutions for forensic science. Such systems are becoming increasingly common in public locations, businesses, universities, residences, and other shared offices, producing enormous amounts of data at rapid speeds in a variety of forms. IoT devices can be used as suspects, digital witnesses, or instruments of crime and cyberattacks, posing new investigation problems, forensic issues, security threats, legal concerns, privacy concerns, and ethical dilemmas. A cyberattack on IoT devices might target the device itself or associated systems, particularly vital infrastructure. This book discusses the advancements in IoT and Cyber Physical Systems (CPS) forensics. The first objective is to learn and understand the fundamentals of IoT forensics. This objective will answer the question of why and how IoT has evolved as one of the most promising and widely accepted technologies across the globe and has many widely accepted applications. The second objective is to learn how to use CPS to address many computational problems. CPS forensics is a promising domain, and there are various advancements in this field. This book is structured so that the topics of discussion are relevant to each reader’s particular areas of interest. The book’s goal is to help each reader to see the relevance of IoT and CPS forensics to his or her career or interests. This book not only presents numerous case studies from a global perspective, but it also compiles a large amount of literature and research from a database. As a result, this book effectively demonstrates the concerns, difficulties, and trends surrounding the topic while also encouraging readers to think globally. The main goal of this project is to encourage both researchers and practitioners to share and exchange their experiences and recent studies between academia and industry.

This textbook provides an introduction to digital forensics, a rapidly evolving field for solving crimes. Beginning with the basic concepts of computer forensics, each of the book’s 21 chapters focuses on a particular forensic topic composed of two parts: background knowledge and hands-on experience through practice exercises. Each theoretical or background section concludes with a series of review questions, which are prepared to test students’ understanding of the materials, while the practice exercises are intended to afford students the opportunity to apply the concepts introduced in the section on background knowledge. This experience-oriented textbook is meant to assist students in gaining a better understanding of digital forensics through hands-on practice in collecting and preserving digital evidence by completing various exercises. With 20 student-directed, inquiry-based practice exercises, students will better understand digital forensic concepts and learn digital forensic investigation techniques. This textbook is intended for upper undergraduate and graduate-level students who are taking digital-forensic related courses or working in digital forensics research. It can also be used by digital forensics practitioners, IT security analysts, and security engineers working in the IT security industry, particular IT professionals responsible for digital investigation and incident handling or researchers working in these related fields as a reference book.

This book provides an in-depth understanding of big data challenges to digital forensic investigations, also known as big digital forensic data. It also develops the basis of using data mining in big forensic data analysis, including data reduction, knowledge management, intelligence, and data mining principles to achieve faster analysis in digital forensic investigations. By collecting and assembling a corpus of test data from a range of devices in the real world, it outlines a process of big data reduction, and evidence and intelligence extraction methods. Further, it includes the experimental results on vast volumes of real digital forensic data. The book is a valuable resource for digital forensic practitioners, researchers in big data, cyber threat hunting and intelligence, data mining and other related areas.

Digital Forensics with Open Source Tools is the definitive book on investigating and analyzing computer systems and media using open source tools. The book is a technical procedural guide, and explains the use of open source tools on Mac, Linux and Windows systems as a platform for performing computer forensics. Both well-known and novel forensic methods are demonstrated using command-line and graphical open source computer forensic tools for examining a wide range of target systems and artifacts. Written by world-renowned forensic practitioners, this book uses the most current examination and analysis techniques in the field. It consists of 9 chapters that cover a range of topics such as the open source examination platform; disk and file system analysis; Windows systems and artifacts; Linux systems and artifacts; Mac OS X systems and artifacts; Internet artifacts; and automating analysis and extending capabilities. The book lends itself to use by students and those entering the field who do not have means to purchase new tools for different investigations. This book will appeal to forensic practitioners from areas including incident response teams and computer forensic investigators; forensic technicians from legal, audit, and consulting firms; and law enforcement agencies. - Written by world-renowned forensic practitioners - Details core concepts and techniques of forensic file system analysis - Covers analysis of artifacts from the Windows, Mac, and Linux operating systems

Get up and running with collecting evidence using forensics best practices to present your findings in judicial or administrative proceedings Key Features Learn the core techniques of computer forensics to acquire and secure digital evidence skillfully Conduct a digital forensic examination and document the digital evidence collected Perform a variety of Windows forensic investigations to analyze and overcome complex challenges Book DescriptionA computer forensics investigator must possess a variety of skills, including the ability to answer legal questions, gather and document evidence, and prepare for an investigation. This book will help you get up and running with using digital forensic tools and techniques to investigate cybercrimes successfully. Starting with an overview of forensics and all the open source and commercial tools needed to get the job done, you'll learn core forensic practices for searching databases and analyzing data over networks, personal devices, and web applications. You'll then learn how to acquire valuable information from different places, such as filesystems, e-mails, browser histories, and search queries, and capture data remotely. As you advance, this book will guide you through implementing forensic techniques on multiple platforms, such as Windows, Linux, and macOS, to demonstrate how to recover valuable information as evidence. Finally, you'll get to grips with presenting your findings efficiently in judicial or administrative proceedings. By the end of this book, you'll have developed a clear understanding of how to acquire, analyze, and present digital evidence like a proficient computer forensics investigator.What you will learn Understand investigative processes, the rules of evidence, and ethical guidelines Recognize and document different types of computer hardware Understand the boot process covering BIOS, UEFI, and the boot sequence Validate forensic hardware and software Discover the locations of common Windows artifacts Document your findings using technically correct terminology Who this book is for If you're an IT beginner, student, or an investigator in the public or private sector this book is for you. This book will also help professionals and investigators who are new to incident response and digital forensics and interested in making a career in the cybersecurity domain. Individuals planning to pass the Certified Forensic Computer Examiner (CFCE) certification will also find this book useful.