Introduction:
In today’s cyber threat landscape, organizations need to be prepared to respond to security incidents effectively. Digital forensics and incident response (DFIR) are critical for identifying, analyzing, and mitigating cyberattacks. This course provides participants with the knowledge and skills needed to handle digital forensics investigations and manage incident response processes. Through a combination of theoretical lessons and practical hands-on labs, participants will learn how to collect and analyze digital evidence, identify signs of a cyberattack, and develop effective strategies to respond to security incidents.

Objectives:
By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Understand the principles of digital forensics and incident response.
• Collect, preserve, and analyze digital evidence following industry best practices.
• Identify common types of cyberattacks and their indicators.
• Utilize forensics tools to analyze logs, file systems, and network traffic.
• Implement incident response procedures for different types of security incidents.
• Create and execute incident response plans for data breaches, malware infections, and other incidents.
• Understand the legal and ethical considerations in digital forensics and incident response.

Who Should Attend?
This course is ideal for IT professionals, cybersecurity analysts, incident responders, and anyone responsible for managing or investigating security incidents. It is suitable for:

• Cybersecurity professionals and analysts.
• Incident response teams and digital forensics investigators.
• IT administrators and network security professionals.
• Students and professionals pursuing careers in cybersecurity and digital forensics.
• Individuals preparing for certifications like Certified Computer Examiner (CCE) or GIAC Certified Forensic Analyst (GCFA).

Day 1: Introduction to Digital Forensics and Incident Response

Morning Session:

• What is Digital Forensics?

  • Definition of digital forensics and its role in incident response.
  • Types of digital evidence: Volatile and non-volatile data.
  • The forensic process: Identification, collection, preservation, analysis, and reporting.
  • Legal and ethical considerations in digital forensics.

• Incident Response Overview

  • Introduction to incident response: Definition, stages, and goals.
  • The incident response lifecycle: Preparation, detection, containment, eradication, and recovery.
  • The importance of proper planning, tools, and team coordination.

Afternoon Session:

• Incident Response Frameworks

  • Overview of common incident response frameworks: NIST 800-61, SANS, and ISO/IEC 27035.
  • Roles and responsibilities in an incident response team: Incident handler, forensic investigator, legal, and communication teams.
  • Building an incident response plan: Pre-incident planning, identification of key assets, and communication protocols.

• Hands-On Lab: Setting Up an Incident Response Plan

  • Participants will walk through a simplified process of setting up an incident response plan, identifying roles, responsibilities, and communication protocols.

Day 2: Evidence Collection and Preservation

Morning Session:

• Forensic Evidence Collection

  • The principles of evidence collection: Chain of custody, preserving integrity, and avoiding contamination.
  • Types of digital evidence: File systems, hard drives, RAM, network traffic, mobile devices.
  • Data acquisition methods: Live acquisition vs. static acquisition, imaging, and logical vs. physical acquisition.

• Disk and File System Forensics

  • Understanding file systems: FAT, NTFS, HFS+, and EXT.
  • Analyzing file metadata: Timestamps, file headers, and file carving.
  • Recovering deleted files: Forensic tools for file recovery.

Afternoon Session:

• Hands-On Lab: Evidence Collection

  • Participants will perform evidence collection by acquiring an image of a suspect hard drive and preserving the chain of custody.
  • Recovering deleted files and analyzing file systems using tools like FTK Imager, Autopsy, and Sleuth Kit.

• Memory Forensics

  • Importance of volatile memory in digital forensics.
  • Tools and techniques for capturing and analyzing RAM (e.g., Volatility, Rekall).
  • Extracting artifacts from memory: Running processes, network connections, and credentials.

Day 3: Malware Analysis and Network Forensics

Morning Session:

• Malware Forensics

  • Identifying signs of malware: Unusual system behavior, network traffic, and file modifications.
  • Types of malware: Viruses, worms, trojans, ransomware, and spyware.
  • Malware analysis techniques: Static and dynamic analysis.
  • Tools for malware analysis: IDA Pro, PE Studio, and Cuckoo Sandbox.

• Hands-On Lab: Malware Analysis

  • Participants will analyze a suspicious file in a controlled environment (using tools like PE Studio or Cuckoo Sandbox) to identify indicators of compromise (IOCs).
  • Examining the behavior of the malware in a sandbox environment.

Afternoon Session:

• Network Forensics

  • The role of network forensics in incident response: Capturing and analyzing network traffic.
  • Identifying common network attack patterns: Port scanning, DDoS attacks, Man-in-the-Middle attacks.
  • Tools for network forensics: Wireshark, tcpdump, and NetFlow.
  • Investigating network logs for signs of intrusion.

• Hands-On Lab: Analyzing Network Traffic

  • Participants will capture network traffic using Wireshark and identify signs of malicious activity, such as port scanning or data exfiltration.

Day 4: Incident Response and Recovery Techniques

Morning Session:

• Incident Detection and Analysis

  • Identifying security incidents: Reviewing logs, alerts, and system behavior.
  • Techniques for analyzing system logs: Event logs, web server logs, and authentication logs.
  • Using SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) systems for detecting and analyzing incidents.

• Containment and Eradication

  • Steps for containing an attack: Isolating affected systems, blocking malicious traffic, and preventing lateral movement.
  • Eradicating threats: Removing malware, disabling compromised accounts, and patching vulnerabilities.
  • Communicating with stakeholders during containment and eradication.

Afternoon Session:

• Hands-On Lab: Incident Response and Recovery
  • Participants will walk through a simulated incident where they will detect, contain, and eradicate a security threat (e.g., a malware infection or network intrusion).
  • Developing and implementing recovery strategies, including restoring systems and verifying the effectiveness of recovery efforts.

Day 5: Reporting, Legal Considerations, and Incident Response Best Practices

Morning Session:

• Reporting for Digital Forensics

  • Writing detailed forensic reports: Documenting findings, methodologies, and evidence handling.
  • Reporting to management, legal teams, and external stakeholders.
  • Best practices for report writing: Clarity, detail, and actionable recommendations.

• Legal Considerations in Incident Response

  • Understanding laws and regulations in digital forensics: GDPR, HIPAA, PCI DSS.
  • The role of forensics in legal proceedings: Admissibility of digital evidence in court.
  • Working with law enforcement and legal teams during investigations.

Afternoon Session:

• Hands-On Lab: Incident Reporting

  • Participants will create a detailed forensic report based on their findings from previous labs.
  • Discussing the importance of proper documentation and reporting in the context of an ongoing investigation or legal proceedings.

• Final Q&A, Course Review, and Certification Exam

  • Recap of key concepts and tools covered throughout the course.
  • Open Q&A session to address any remaining questions or issues.
  • Certification exam to assess participants’ knowledge of digital forensics and incident response.
  • Awarding certificates to successful participants.