Certified Forensic Examiner (CFE) equips cybersecurity professionals with the knowledge and practical skills to conduct digital forensic investigations, preserve evidence, analyze cyber incidents, and prepare for the CFE certification.
Duration 5 Days – 35 hrs.
Overview
The Certified Forensic Examiner (CFE) Training Course is designed to provide cybersecurity professionals, investigators, auditors, and law enforcement personnel with the knowledge and practical skills required to conduct digital forensic investigations. Participants will learn forensic methodologies, evidence acquisition, forensic analysis techniques, incident investigation procedures, and legal considerations necessary for handling digital evidence in corporate, government, and law enforcement environments.
This course combines forensic theory with hands-on exercises, enabling participants to identify, preserve, analyze, and report digital evidence while maintaining forensic integrity and compliance with industry standards and legal requirements.
Objectives
- Understand digital forensic principles and methodologies.
- Conduct legally defensible forensic investigations.
- Acquire and preserve digital evidence using industry best practices.
- Perform forensic analysis on computers, storage devices, and operating systems.
- Investigate cybersecurity incidents and data breaches.
- Analyze deleted, hidden, and encrypted data.
- Conduct memory and network forensic investigations.
- Document findings and prepare forensic reports.
- Understand legal, ethical, and compliance requirements related to digital evidence.
- Prepare for professional digital forensic certification
Target Audience
- Digital Forensic Analysts
- Cybersecurity Analysts
- Incident Response Team Members
- SOC Analysts
- Information Security Professionals
- Law Enforcement Investigators
- Internal Auditors
- Fraud Investigators
- Compliance Officers
- IT Administrators responsible for investigations
Prerequisites
- Basic understanding of computer systems and operating systems
- Familiarity with networking concepts
- Knowledge of cybersecurity fundamentals
- Experience in IT administration or security operations is beneficial
- No prior forensic experience required, but recommended
Course Outline
Day 1: Foundations of Digital Forensics
Module 1: Introduction to Digital Forensics
- Digital forensic concepts
- Forensic investigation lifecycle
- Types of digital evidence
- Roles and responsibilities of forensic examiners
- Forensic standards and best practices
Module 2: Legal and Ethical Considerations
- Digital evidence laws
- Rules of evidence
- Chain of custody
- Search and seizure considerations
- Privacy and compliance requirements
Module 3: Forensic Investigation Process
- Identification
- Preservation
- Collection
- Examination
- Analysis
- Reporting
- Presentation
Hands-On Lab
- Evidence handling procedures
- Chain of custody documentation
- Forensic case preparation
Day 2: Evidence Acquisition and Preservation
Module 4: Forensic Imaging
- Disk acquisition methods
- Bit-stream imaging
- Write blockers
- Hashing and integrity verification
- Imaging tools and techniques
Module 5: Evidence Preservation
- Storage media handling
- Maintaining evidence integrity
- Evidence documentation
- Secure evidence storage
Module 6: File System Fundamentals
- FAT/FAT32
- NTFS
- exFAT
- Linux file systems
- macOS file systems
Hands-On Lab
- Disk imaging exercise
- Hash verification
- File system examination
Day 3: Computer and Operating System Forensics
Module 7: Windows Forensics
- Windows artifacts
- Registry analysis
- Event logs
- User activity reconstruction
- Startup and persistence mechanisms
Module 8: Linux and macOS Forensics
- Linux forensic artifacts
- Log analysis
- User account investigations
- macOS evidence collection
Module 9: File and Data Analysis
- Deleted file recovery
- Hidden file discovery
- Metadata analysis
- Timeline creation
- Data carving techniques
Hands-On Lab
- Windows forensic investigation
- Registry analysis
- Deleted file recovery exercise
Day 4: Advanced Digital Forensics
Module 10: Memory Forensics
- Memory acquisition
- RAM analysis
- Malware detection
- Process investigation
- Volatile data analysis
Module 11: Network Forensics
- Network traffic analysis
- Packet capture analysis
- Log correlation
- Intrusion investigations
- Threat actor tracking
Module 12: Mobile Device Forensics
- Mobile forensic concepts
- Android investigations
- iOS investigations
- Mobile evidence collection
- Mobile application analysis
Hands-On Lab
- Memory analysis
- Packet capture investigation
- Mobile device forensic scenario
Day 5: Incident Investigation and Reporting
Module 13: Cybercrime and Incident Investigations
- Data breach investigations
- Insider threat investigations
- Fraud investigations
- Malware incident investigations
- Ransomware investigations
Module 14: Reporting and Documentation
- Forensic report writing
- Evidence presentation
- Executive summaries
- Technical findings documentation
- Courtroom preparation concepts
Module 15: Forensic Tools and Case Management
- Commercial forensic tools overview
- Open-source forensic tools
- Case management procedures
- Investigation workflow optimization
Hands-On Lab
- End-to-end forensic investigation
- Evidence analysis and reporting
- Mock forensic case presentation
Hands-On Labs and Practical Exercises
Throughout the course, participants will perform:
- Digital Evidence Acquisition
- Forensic Disk Imaging
- Hash Verification and Integrity Validation
- File System Analysis
- Windows Registry Examination
- Event Log Analysis
- Deleted File Recovery
- Metadata and Timeline Analysis
- Memory Forensics Investigation
- Network Traffic Analysis
- Mobile Device Investigation
- Incident Response and Forensic Analysis
- Forensic Report Preparation
- Digital Evidence Presentation Exercises
