Analysis vs. Translation
Very often, examiners get called upon to do what may be referred to as “push-button forensics”. Meaning that we acquire data, plug it into a tool, and wait for the processing and output from that tool to tell us what we…
Problem Solving Digital Forensics
For those of you who are involved in (and can tell people about) active digital forensic casework, you probably get the same response when you tell others about your job – “Wow! That sounds really cool!”. Yes, it sounds cool and can…
Electronically Stored Information (ESI) in High-Profile Cases
f it seems like the frequency of high-profile and attention-grabbing cases involving Electronically Stored Information (ESI) and digital evidence in the media are on the increase, you’re 100% correct! ESI is ubiquitous – on our computers, on our phones, on our…
Digital Evidence in Distracted Driving Cases: Text Messages & Beyond
Texting-while-driving (TWD) is a problem, but it’s more than just texting – the problem encompasses distractions of all sorts related to mobile devices and more. One might go so far as to say it is the traffic safety problem of the…
Sooner Rather Than Later… Please!
In the past few weeks, we’ve received a higher than average number of requests for digital forensic services on very short notice. To some digital forensic practitioners, particularly in the public sector, this may seem almost unheard of, but when I…
The Digital Forensic Answer: It Depends
In life, we rarely ever get solid answers. The same is true in many forensic disciplines. Indeed, even when some answers are put forth as solid, after years of scrutiny, challenges and vetting, the answer can be reversed (see: FBI hair comparison “forensics”). One…
Link to Forensicator Podcast #103: Magnet Axiom
Pro Digital Forensic Consulting Principal Consultant, Patrick Siewert talks with Jamie McQuaid, Digital Forensic Consultant at Magnet Forensics about their new tool, Axiom. They discuss what went into the design of Axiom, what the tool offers, what you can do…
Holistic Mobile & Cellular Investigations
I’ve been attending a lot of training lately. Because my training and experience initiated in law enforcement and in computer forensics and because the field of mobile device forensics has exploded so much, I have been catching up on newer methods…
Don’t Forget the Victim (And Their Device)!
Regardless if your case involves computers, tablets, iPhones, Android devices or all of the above, one thing the investigative community can agree on is, every case is different. Sure, certain cases will follow a workflow pattern, but the circumstances of every…
Training Review: X-Ways Forensics
I’ve been involved in computer/digital forensics since 2009, starting off my first training with Basic Data Recovery & Acquisition (BDRA) given by the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C)in Fairmont, WV. Many of you have probably started your forensic training at NW3C…
