A Practical Guide to Computer Forensics Investigations

All you need to know to succeed in digital forensics: technical and investigative skills, in one book

Complete, practical, and up-to-date

Thoroughly covers digital forensics for Windows, Mac, mobile, hardware, and networks

Addresses online and lab investigations, documentation, admissibility, and more

By Dr. Darren Hayes, founder of Pace University’s Code Detectives forensics lab–one of America’s “Top 10 Computer Forensics Professors”

Perfect for anyone pursuing a digital forensics career or working with examiners

Criminals go where the money is. Today, trillions of dollars of assets are digital, and digital crime is growing fast. In response, demand for digital forensics experts is soaring. To succeed in this exciting field, you need strong technical and investigative skills. In this guide, one of the world’s leading computer orensics experts teaches you all the skills you’ll need.

Writing for students and professionals at all levels, Dr. Darren Hayes presents complete best practices for capturing and analyzing evidence, protecting the chain of custody, documenting investigations, and scrupulously adhering to the law, so your evidence can always be used.

Hayes introduces today’s latest technologies and technical challenges, offering detailed coverage of crucial topics such as mobile forensics, Mac forensics, cyberbullying, and child endangerment.

This guide’s practical activities and case studies give you hands-on mastery of modern digital forensics tools and techniques. Its many realistic examples reflect the author’s extensive and pioneering work as a forensics examiner in both criminal and civil investigations.

• Understand what computer forensics examiners do, and the types of digital evidence they work with
• Explore Windows and Mac computers, understand how their features affect evidence gathering, and use free tools to investigate their contents
• Extract data from diverse storage devices
• Establish a certified forensics lab and implement good practices for managing and processing evidence
• Gather data and perform investigations online
• Capture Internet communications, video, images, and other content
• Write comprehensive reports that withstand defense objections and enable successful prosecution
• Follow strict search and surveillance rules to make your evidence admissible
• Investigate network breaches, including dangerous Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs)
• Retrieve immense amounts of evidence from smartphones, even without seizing them
• Successfully investigate financial fraud performed with digital devices
• Use digital photographic evidence, including metadata and social media images

Dr. Darren R. Hayes is a leading expert in the field of digital forensics and computer security. He is the director of cybersecurity and an assistant professor at Pace University, and he has been named one of the Top 10 Computer Forensics Professors by Forensics Colleges.

Hayes has served on the board of the High Technology Crime Investigation Association (HTCIA), Northeast Chapter, and is the former president of that chapter. He also established a student chapter of the HTCIA at Pace University.

During his time at Pace University, Hayes developed a computer forensics track for the school’s bachelor of science in information technology degree. He also created a computer forensics research laboratory, where he devotes most of his time to working with a team of students in computer forensics and, most recently, the burgeoning field of mobile forensics. As part of his research and promotion of this scientific field of study, he has fostered relationships with the NYPD, N.Y. State Police, and other law enforcement agencies. He also organized a successful internship program at the cybercrime division of the New York County D.A. Office and the Westchester County D.A. Office.

Hayes is not only an academic, however―he is also a practitioner. He has been an investigator on both civil and criminal investigations and has been called upon as an expert for a number of law firms. In New York City, Hayes has been working with six to eight public high schools to develop a curriculum in computer forensics. He collaborates on computer forensics projects internationally and has served as an extern examiner for the MSc in Forensic Computing and Cybercrime Investigation degree program at University College Dublin for four years.

Hayes has appeared on Bloomberg Television and Fox 5 News and been quoted by Associated Press, CNN, Compliance Week, E-Commerce Times, The Guardian (UK), Investor’s Business Daily, MarketWatch, Newsweek, Network World, Silicon Valley Business Journal, USA Today, Washington Post, and Wired News. His op-eds have been published by American Banker’s BankThink and The Hill’s Congress Blog. In addition, he has authored a number of peer-reviewed articles in computer forensics, most of which have been published by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). Hayes has been both an author and reviewer for Pearson Prentice Hall since 2007.