Computer Forensics Jumpstart

Launch Your Career in Computer Forensics—Quickly and Effectively Written by a team of computer forensics experts, Computer Forensics JumpStart provides all the core information you need to launch your career in this fast-growing field: Conducting a computer forensics investigation Examining the layout of a network Finding hidden data Capturing images Identifying, collecting, and preserving computer evidence Understanding encryption and examining encrypted files Documenting your case Evaluating common computer forensic tools Presenting computer evidence in court as an expert witness

Essential reading for launching a career in computer forensics Internet crime is on the rise, catapulting the need for computer forensics specialists. This new edition presents you with a completely updated overview of the basic skills that are required as a computer forensics professional. The author team of technology security veterans introduces the latest software and tools that exist and they review the available certifications in this growing segment of IT that can help take your career to a new level. A variety of real-world practices take you behind the scenes to look at the root causes of security attacks and provides you with a unique perspective as you launch a career in this fast-growing field. Explores the profession of computer forensics, which is more in demand than ever due to the rise of Internet crime Details the ways to conduct a computer forensics investigation Highlights tips and techniques for finding hidden data, capturing images, documenting your case, and presenting evidence in court as an expert witness Walks you through identifying, collecting, and preserving computer evidence Explains how to understand encryption and examine encryption files Computer Forensics JumpStart is the resource you need to launch a career in computer forensics.

A practical guide to enhancing your digital investigations with cutting-edge memory forensics techniques Key FeaturesExplore memory forensics, one of the vital branches of digital investigationLearn the art of user activities reconstruction and malware detection using volatile memoryGet acquainted with a range of open-source tools and techniques for memory forensicsBook Description Memory Forensics is a powerful analysis technique that can be used in different areas, from incident response to malware analysis. With memory forensics, you can not only gain key insights into the user's context but also look for unique traces of malware, in some cases, to piece together the puzzle of a sophisticated targeted attack. Starting with an introduction to memory forensics, this book will gradually take you through more modern concepts of hunting and investigating advanced malware using free tools and memory analysis frameworks. This book takes a practical approach and uses memory images from real incidents to help you gain a better understanding of the subject and develop the skills required to investigate and respond to malware-related incidents and complex targeted attacks. You'll cover Windows, Linux, and macOS internals and explore techniques and tools to detect, investigate, and hunt threats using memory forensics. Equipped with this knowledge, you'll be able to create and analyze memory dumps on your own, examine user activity, detect traces of fileless and memory-based malware, and reconstruct the actions taken by threat actors. By the end of this book, you'll be well-versed in memory forensics and have gained hands-on experience of using various tools associated with it. What you will learnUnderstand the fundamental concepts of memory organizationDiscover how to perform a forensic investigation of random access memoryCreate full memory dumps as well as dumps of individual processes in Windows, Linux, and macOSAnalyze hibernation files, swap files, and crash dumpsApply various methods to analyze user activitiesUse multiple approaches to search for traces of malicious activityReconstruct threat actor tactics and techniques using random access memory analysisWho this book is for This book is for incident responders, digital forensic specialists, cybersecurity analysts, system administrators, malware analysts, students, and curious security professionals new to this field and interested in learning memory forensics. A basic understanding of malware and its working is expected. Although not mandatory, knowledge of operating systems internals will be helpful. For those new to this field, the book covers all the necessary concepts.

Designed as an introduction and overview to the field, Cyber Forensics: A Field Manual for Collecting, Examining, and Preserving Evidence of Computer Crimes, Second Edition integrates theory and practice to present the policies, procedures, methodologies, and legal ramifications and implications of a cyber forensic investigation. The authors guide you step-by-step through the basics of investigation and introduce the tools and procedures required to legally seize and forensically evaluate a suspect machine. Updating and expanding information on concealment techniques, new technologies, hardware, software, and relevant new legislation, this second edition delineates the scope and goals of cyber forensics to reveal and track legal and illegal activity. Beginning with an introduction and definition of cyber forensics, chapters explain the rules of evidence and chain of custody in maintaining legally valid electronic evidence. They describe how to begin an investigation and employ investigative methodology, as well as establish standard operating procedures for the field and cyber forensic laboratory. The authors provide an in depth examination of the manipulation of technology to conceal illegal activities and the use of cyber forensics to uncover them. They discuss topics and issues such as conducting a cyber forensic investigation within both the local and federal legal framework, and evaluating the current data security and integrity exposure of multifunctional devices. Cyber Forensics includes details and tips on taking control of a suspect computer or PDA and its "operating" environment, mitigating potential exposures and risks to chain of custody, and establishing and following a flowchart for the seizure of electronic evidence. An extensive list of appendices include websites, organizations, pertinent legislation, further readings, best practice recommendations, more information on hardware and software, and a recap of the federal rules of civil procedure.

Open Source Software for Digital Forensics is the first book dedicated to the use of FLOSS (Free Libre Open Source Software) in computer forensics. It presents the motivations for using FLOSS applications as tools for collection, preservation and analysis of digital evidence in computer and network forensics. It also covers extensively several forensic FLOSS tools, their origins and evolution. Open Source Software for Digital Forensics is based on the OSSCoNF workshop, which was held in Milan, Italy, September 2008 at the World Computing Congress, co-located with OSS 2008. This edited volume is a collection of contributions from researchers and practitioners world wide. Open Source Software for Digital Forensics is designed for advanced level students and researchers in computer science as a secondary text and reference book. Computer programmers, software developers, and digital forensics professionals will also find this book to be a valuable asset.