Duration 4 days – 28 hrs

 

Overview

The Computer System Forensics Training Course is designed to provide participants with practical knowledge and foundational skills in identifying, collecting, preserving, analyzing, and reporting digital evidence from computer systems.

This course introduces participants to computer forensic principles, evidence handling, forensic readiness, disk and file system analysis, operating system artifacts, memory evidence awareness, malware indicators, log analysis, incident investigation, chain of custody, documentation, and forensic reporting. Participants will learn how forensic practices support cybersecurity investigations, incident response, internal audits, legal inquiries, and organizational risk management.

The course is suitable for IT, cybersecurity, audit, compliance, and investigation teams responsible for responding to security incidents, analyzing compromised systems, preserving evidence, and preparing clear investigation reports.

 

Objectives

• Understand the fundamentals of computer system forensics.
• Explain the purpose and importance of digital evidence preservation.
• Understand forensic investigation principles, legal considerations, and ethical responsibilities.
• Apply proper evidence handling, chain of custody, and documentation practices.
• Identify common sources of digital evidence in computer systems.
• Understand file systems, storage media, partitions, and deleted file concepts.
• Recognize operating system artifacts useful in forensic investigation.
• Understand basic log analysis and event correlation.
• Identify indicators of compromise and suspicious system activity.
• Support incident response through forensic evidence collection and analysis.
• Prepare structured forensic findings and investigation reports.
• Apply basic forensic readiness practices within an organization.

Target Audience

• Cybersecurity analysts
• Incident response teams
• IT security officers
• Systems administrators
• Network administrators
• IT operations teams
• Digital forensic beginners
• Internal audit teams
• Risk and compliance teams
• IT governance teams
• Technical support specialists
• Application support teams
• Law enforcement or investigation support personnel
• Organizations building foundational digital forensics capability

 

Prerequisites 

• Basic understanding of computer systems and operating systems
• Basic knowledge of files, folders, storage, and user accounts
• Basic awareness of cybersecurity concepts is helpful
• Familiarity with Windows or Linux administration is helpful but not required
• No advanced digital forensics experience is required

Course Outline 

 

Computer Forensics Fundamentals and Evidence Handling

Module 1: Introduction to Computer System Forensics

• What is computer system forensics?
• Purpose of digital forensics
• Role of forensics in cybersecurity and incident response
• Types of digital investigations
• Computer forensics versus cybersecurity monitoring
• Common computer forensic scenarios
• Forensic investigation lifecycle

Module 2: Legal, Ethical, and Organizational Considerations

• Legal considerations in digital evidence handling
• Ethics in forensic investigation
• Privacy and confidentiality considerations
• Authorization and scope of investigation
• Internal investigation policies
• Evidence admissibility awareness
• Avoiding evidence contamination
• Roles and responsibilities in forensic investigations

Module 3: Digital Evidence Fundamentals

• What is digital evidence?
• Characteristics of digital evidence
• Volatile and non-volatile evidence
• Evidence sources in computer systems
• Evidence integrity and authenticity
• Hashing concepts
• Timestamps and time zone considerations
• Evidence preservation principles

Module 4: Chain of Custody and Documentation

• Purpose of chain of custody
• Evidence identification and labeling
• Evidence collection forms
• Evidence transfer and storage
• Maintaining evidence integrity
• Investigation notes
• Documentation standards
• Common chain of custody mistakes

Module 5: Forensic Acquisition Basics

• Purpose of forensic acquisition
• Disk imaging overview
• Live acquisition versus dead acquisition
• Full disk image versus logical acquisition
• Write blockers overview
• Image verification using hashes
• Handling removable media
• Safe evidence collection practices

 

File Systems, Operating System Artifacts, and Log Analysis

Module 6: Storage and File System Fundamentals

• Storage media overview
• Partitions and volumes
• File systems overview
• File metadata
• Deleted files and file recovery concepts
• Slack space and unallocated space overview
• File signatures and file extensions
• Common storage-related evidence

Module 7: Windows Forensic Artifacts

• Windows user profiles
• Registry overview
• Event logs
• Prefetch files overview
• Recent files and shortcut files
• Browser history and downloads
• USB device history overview
• Installed applications and services
• User activity indicators

Module 8: Linux and macOS Forensic Awareness

• Linux file system overview
• User and system logs
• Shell history
• Authentication logs
• Scheduled tasks and services
• macOS artifact awareness
• User activity indicators
• Cross-platform evidence considerations

Module 9: Log Analysis for Forensic Investigation

• Importance of logs in investigation
• System logs
• Security logs
• Application logs
• Authentication logs
• Network-related logs
• Timeline reconstruction
• Event correlation
• Identifying suspicious activity in logs

Module 10: Timeline and User Activity Analysis

• Purpose of timeline analysis
• File access, modification, and creation timestamps
• Login and logout activity
• Program execution artifacts
• Browser and download activity
• File movement and deletion indicators
• Building an investigation timeline
• Common timeline analysis challenges

 

Incident Investigation, Malware Indicators, Reporting, and Practical Workshop

Module 11: Forensics in Incident Response

• Role of forensics during security incidents
• Initial evidence preservation
• Triage and scoping
• Identifying affected systems
• Collecting relevant artifacts
• Coordinating with incident response teams
• Escalation and communication
• Post-incident forensic review

Module 12: Indicators of Compromise and Suspicious Activity

• What are indicators of compromise?
• Suspicious processes and services
• Unusual user accounts
• Unauthorized software
• Suspicious network connections
• Persistence indicators
• File and folder anomalies
• Log tampering indicators
• Common signs of system compromise

Module 13: Malware Forensics Awareness

• Malware investigation basics
• Malware indicators on endpoints
• Suspicious files and processes
• Startup and persistence locations
• Basic malware containment considerations
• Safe handling of suspected malware
• Coordination with malware analysts
• Evidence documentation for malware cases

Module 14: Memory Forensics Awareness

• What is memory forensics?
• Importance of volatile evidence
• Running processes
• Network connections
• Loaded modules and drivers
• User sessions
• Credentials and sensitive data risks
• When memory acquisition may be needed

Module 15: Forensic Reporting and Presentation of Findings

• Purpose of forensic reporting
• Structure of a forensic report
• Executive summary
• Scope and methodology
• Evidence collected
• Findings and observations
• Timeline of events
• Impact and risk assessment
• Recommendations and next steps
• Presenting findings to stakeholders

Module 16: Practical Forensics Workshop

• Review a sample investigation scenario
• Define investigation scope
• Identify possible evidence sources
• Prepare chain of custody documentation
• Review sample system artifacts
• Analyze sample logs
• Build a basic event timeline
• Identify suspicious activities
• Prepare forensic findings
• Create a sample forensic investigation report
• Present findings and recommendations