Hacking Exposed Computer Forensics: Computer Forensics Secrets & Solutions [Paperback]

Chris Davis (Author), Aaron Philipp (Author), David Cowen (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0072256753 | ISBN-13: 978-0072256758 | Publication Date: November 22, 2004 | Edition: 1

Investigate computer crime, corporate malfeasance, and hacker break-ins quickly and effectively with help from this practical and comprehensive resource. You’ll get expert information on crucial procedures to successfully prosecute violators while avoiding the pitfalls of illicit searches, privacy violations, and illegally obtained evidence. It’s all here--from collecting actionable evidence, re-creating the criminal timeline, and zeroing in on a suspect to uncovering obscured and deleted code, unlocking encrypted files, and preparing lawful affidavits. Plus, you’ll get in-depth coverage of the latest PDA and cell phone investigation techniques and real-world case studies.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Learn the secrets and strategies for investigating computer crime

Investigate computer crime, corporate malfeasance, and hacker break-ins quickly and effectively with help from this practical and comprehensive resource. You’ll get expert information on crucial procedures to prosecute violators successfully while avoiding the pitfalls of illicit searches, privacy violations, and illegally obtained evidence. It’s all here--from collecting actionable evidence, re-creating the criminal timeline, and zeroing in on a suspect to uncovering obscured and deleted code, unlocking encrypted files, and preparing lawful affidavits. Plus, you’ll get in-depth coverage of the latest PDA and cell phone investigation techniques and real-world case studies.

Digital sleuthing techniques that will withstand judicial scrutiny

Inside, you’ll learn to:

• Plan and prepare for all stages of an investigation using the proven Hacking Exposed methodology
• Work with and store evidence in a properly configured forensic lab
• Deploy an effective case management strategy to collect material, document findings, and archive results
• Covertly investigate, triage, and work with remote data across the network
• Recover partitions, INFO records, and deleted, wiped, and hidden files
• Acquire, authenticate, and analyze evidence from Windows, UNIX, and Macintosh systems using the latest hardware and software tools
• Use forensic tools to uncover obscured code, file mismatches, and invalid signatures
• Extract client and Web-based email artifacts using Email Examiner, EnCase, Forensic Toolkit, and open source tools
• Handle enterprise storage like RAIDs, SANs, NAS, and tape backup libraries
• Recover vital data from handheld devices such as PDAs and cell phones

About the Authors: Chris Davis, CISSP, is a Computer Forensics Examiner for Texas Instruments. He has trained and presented at Black Hat, ISSA, CISA, ConSecWest, McCombs School of Business, PlanetPDA, and 3GSM World Congress.

Aaron Philipp, CISSP, is the co-founder of Affect Consulting. He has taught classes at Black Hat, McCombs School of Business - UT Austin, and various military organizations.

Dave Cowen, CISSP, Senior Consultant at Fios, has extensive experience in security research, application security testing, penetration testing, and computer forensic analysis. He is an expert witness and a regular speaker on computer forensics.

About the Author

Chris Davis, CISA, CISSP (Dallas, TX) is a senior IT auditor for Texas Instruments and author of the best-selling Hacking Exposed: Computer Forensics.

Product Details

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Osborne Media; 1 edition (November 22, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0072256753
• ISBN-13: 978-0072256758
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,225,379 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Interesting Book, December 2, 2004

By 

Arthur Dexter (Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hacking Exposed Computer Forensics: Computer Forensics Secrets & Solutions (Paperback)

Coming from a system administration background, I found Hacking Exposed Computer Forensics to be very good book.

The book does a good job of filling you in with the background technical details as well as providing practical knowledge you can use on a day to day basis. In addition to serving as an accesible introduction to both the technical and legal sides of computer forensics, the book is a useful reference with many clear, detailed examples.

The computer side of the book offered advice on working with Windows, Linux, and Macintosh systems. I especially appreciated the section on Macs. Having worked primarily with Linux and Windows, I found the Mac details to be extremely interesting.

While I have not had to deal with the legal side of computer forensics, I found the legal sections to be interesting reading.

I would reccomend this book strongly to technical people whether or not they are interested in law enforcement, as it provides a good deal of information useful to system administrators as well as advanced users.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent reference but..., May 9, 2006

By 

akempo "akempo" (Lexington, SC United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hacking Exposed Computer Forensics: Computer Forensics Secrets & Solutions (Paperback)

for anyone conducting an investigation, this is the epitome of a textbook reference book hybrid. The book provides a good overview of the most popular tools on the market and how to effectively use them during the investigative process, as well as legal requirements for evidence handling and tracking.

One of the book's best features is also one of it's biggest weaknesses: if you don't have access to at least one of the software packages demonstrated in the book, the book's value decreases substantially. Although not said in so many words, the implication is that if you don't have one of these tools, your investigation will be much more difficult, if not impossible.

Given the dryness and specificity of the writing, although the book is wellwritten, I would have trouble recommending it to anyone not currently already doing that type of work.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Explanations -- Very Easy to Use, April 25, 2005

By 

Daniel Richardson (NY, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hacking Exposed Computer Forensics: Computer Forensics Secrets & Solutions (Paperback)

I work on the security team in a large company and use this as a key reference when working investigations. We're understaffed, and investigations isn't my only focus. When I found out about this book I was excited about the familiar look and feel of a series I've humbly learned much from. IMHO, this book is an outstanding compliment to the arsenal of tools I use when I'm asked to help with investigations. In particular, I like the short and concise legal information and the breadth of topics covered in a short volume. I feel a lot of though went into this because the layout helps me focus on important issues. The book covers so many topics like cell phones, Internet logs, eMail, and Macintosh systems to large storage RAIDS, NAS and SANS. Tools are also covered, including some I knew about, and some I don't know how I lived without before reading this. I feel much more confident handling cases I'm asked to help with.