Computer-based evidence is widely accepted in courts of law and is increasingly a mainstay of success--even where the crime or dispute in question is not "high-tech." SANS has worked hard to train forensic analysts and investigators to acquire, process, and present computer-based evidence in court. Rather than focus on evidence retrieved from a hard drive, USB drive, or other static data storage devices, this course emphasizes acquisition and analysis of evidence on the move.
Network equipment such as Web proxies, firewalls, IDS, routers, and even switches often contain evidence that can make or break a case. A great deal of evidence flows across the network but is never stored on a workstation or server hard drive. In this class, law enforcement and information security professionals will learn how to recover evidence from network-based devices in order to speed up investigations and build stronger cases.
Students will learn practical methods for collecting network evidence through engaging, hands-on exercises. On the first day we will build a forensic monitoring server. During the following days we will use the forensic monitoring servers to collect network evidence from many network-based devices, including switches, routers, Web proxies, firewalls, and central logging servers. We will capture raw network traffic and carve files out of reconstructed packets. We will also discuss the challenges of encrypted sessions such as SSL tunnels and practice intercepting and reconstructing encrypted Web traffic. Finally, on the third day we will challenge students to respond to a realistic scenario. We will use our new tools to collect evidence from a virtual network and then present our case in the "court" of our peers.
Through hands-on exercises, students will master the tools and techniques of network-based evidence acquisition, analysis, correlation, and reconstruction. Ultimately, students will present compelling pre-trial and courtroom testimony based on rigorously obtained evidence.