Handbook of Computer Crime Investigation: Forensic Tools and Technology [Paperback]

Eoghan Casey (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0121631036 | ISBN-13: 978-0121631031 | Publication Date: November 12, 2001 | Edition: 1

Following on the success of his introductory text, Digital Evidence and Computer Crime, Eoghan Casey brings together a few top experts to create the first detailed guide for professionals who are already familiar with digital evidence. The Handbook of Computer Crime Investigation helps readers master the forensic analysis of computer systems with a three-part approach covering tools, technology, and case studies.
The Tools section provides the details on leading software programs, with each chapter written by that product's creator. The section ends with an objective comparison of the strengths and limitations of each tool.

The main Technology section provides the technical "how to" information for collecting and analyzing digital evidence in common situations, starting with computers, moving on to networks, and culminating with embedded systems. The Case Examples section gives readers a sense of the technical, legal, and practical challenges that arise in real computer investigations.

The Tools section provides details of leading hardware and software
·
The main Technology section provides the technical "how to" information
· for collecting and analysing digital evidence in common situations
Case Examples give readers a sense of the technical, legal, and practical
· challenges that arise in real computer investigations

Editorial Reviews

Review

The audience for this book is obviously the legal and law enforcement communities, so any library serving them would find this an excellent introduction. Any law firm looking to get into the field would do well to start here. - E-Streams

Academic law, business or computer science collections will, however, find this book a useful introduction to an increasingly important field - even large public libraries will find an eager audience in an uncertain world. - E-Streams

Book Description

The author of the best-selling Digital Evidence and Computer Crime teams up with top forensic experts to bring you the first indepth guide to computer crime fighting tools and technology!

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Academic Press; 1 edition (November 12, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0121631036
• ISBN-13: 978-0121631031
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #414,979 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #82 in Books > Computers & Technology > Business & Culture > Digital Law

More About the Author

Eoghan Casey is founding partner of cmdLabs.com, specializing in digital forensics and incident response. Over the past decade, he has consulted with many attorneys, agencies, and police departments in the United States, South America, and Europe on a wide range of digital investigations, including fraud, violent crimes, identity theft, and on-line criminal activity. In addition, Eoghan has helped organizations investigate and manage security breaches, including network intrusions with international scope. He has delivered expert testimony in civil and criminal cases, and has submitted expert reports and prepared trial exhibits for computer forensic and cyber-crime cases.

Eoghan has performed thousands of forensic acquisitions and examinations, including Windows and UNIX systems, Enterprise servers, smart phones, cell phones, network logs, backup tapes, and database systems. He has performed vulnerability assessments, deployed and maintained intrusion detection systems, firewalls and public key infrastructures, and developed policies, procedures, and educational programs for a variety of organizations.Eoghan has authored numerous books in his areas of expertise that are used by practitioners and universities around the world, and he is Editor-in-Chief of Elsevier's International Journal of Digital Investigation. In addition, he conducts research and teaches graduate students at Johns Hopkins University Information Security Institute.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Computer Crime Investigation...Cookbook!, February 20, 2002

By 

Marco De Vivo "Mr. TCP/IP" (Miami, Florida United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Handbook of Computer Crime Investigation: Forensic Tools and Technology (Paperback)

What is your real interest?
If you have a strong background on computer networks, and want to know about 'true' computers forensic, then you should consider books like 'Know your Enemy' or 'Intrusion Signatures and Analysis'. Else, if you are not a computer networks expert or not even a computer professional, and want to have some knowledge about computers forensic, then this can be your book: very comprehensive, not too depth, rich of examples, and, as a bonus, covering several emerging security issues like Wireless Network Analysis and Embedded Systems Analysis.
Note, however that:
- It is not a traditional book, but rather a set of 'essays'.
- The contained material is quite biased, since several explanations seem to be more oriented toward promoting tools than to discuss the areas they are intended for.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars You'll find something to like in this collection of essays, January 13, 2002

By 

Richard Bejtlich "TaoSecurity" (Metro Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Handbook of Computer Crime Investigation: Forensic Tools and Technology (Paperback)

I am a senior engineer for network security operations. I bought "Handbook of Computer Crime Investigation" (HoCCI) to expand my knowledge of incident response and digital forensics. While "Incident Response" by Mandia, Prosise, and Pepe remains my top pick, HoCCI contains enough original material to qualify as recommended reading.

HoCCI is a collection of 14 distinct chapters written by 17 authors. The book's main audience appears to be law enforcement personnel, and Academic Press markets the book as a title in its "Forensic Science" catalog. The introduction states the book is written for "forensic examiners" who testify in court, although anyone performing digital forensics will find useful sections.

Some of HoCCI's strengths include numerous case studies. Ch. 2 offers examples of "ineffective" and "effective" disclosure and production of digital records in legal proceedings. Chs. 12, 13, and 14 are dedicated to factual legal and incident response scenarios. Reading these anecdotes, I perceived most of the 17 authors to be extremely familiar with their field.

Beyond helpful case studies, HoCCI provides several strong technical chapters. Bob Sheldon's Windows section (ch. 7) is excellent, and Ronald van der Knijff's embedded systems essay (ch. 11) explains the cutting edge of digital forensics. His discussions of directly reading FLASH and EEPROM memory, and using power analysis to break passwords, are impressive. I enjoyed Steve Romig's explanation of using Cisco NetFlow logs in ch. 4, and found the descriptions of wireless systems in ch. 10 to be useful.

HoCCI is not without faults. Several chapters seem like product advertisements; EnCase is the focus of ch. 3, while NFR's IDS appears in ch. 5. The network analysis section (ch. 9) repeats the much-quoted myth that TCP sequence numbers count packets; they actually count bytes of application data.

Overall, HoCCI is a useful supplement to Foundstone's "Incident Response." HoCCI may spend too many pages describing how to search hard drives for remnants of illicit images, illegal software, or harassing emails. Fortunately, its technical content distinguishes it from "Computer Forensics" by Kruse and Heiser and "Incident Response: A Strategic Guide" by Schultz and Shumway.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essays by a variety of learned and experienced authors, July 12, 2002

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Handbook of Computer Crime Investigation: Forensic Tools and Technology (Paperback)

Capably edited by Eoghan Casey (System Security Administrator, Yale University), Handbook Of Computer Crime Investigation: Forensic Tools And Technology is a fascinating guide to the software and hardware tools necessary for collecting digital evidence of cyber crimes ranging from cyberstalking and child pornography to financial fraud, espionage, or terrorism. Essays by a variety of learned and experienced authors present the latest means of forensic analysis for Windows, Unix, and more systems. Sample code, charts, and appropriate case examples pepper this amazing, cutting-edge criminology reference. Handbook Of Computer Crime Investigation is an invaluable and "user friendly" contribution to the field of computer and Internet security.