Computer security is a crucial aspect of modern information management, and one of the latest buzzwords is incident response--detecting and reacting to security breaches. Computer Forensics offers information professionals a disciplined approach to implementing a comprehensive incident-response plan, with a focus on being able to detect intruders, discover what damage they did, and hopefully find out who they are.

There is little doubt that the authors are serious about cyberinvestigation. They advise companies to "treat every case like it will end up in court," and although this sounds extreme, it is good advice. Upon detecting a malicious attack on a system, many system administrators react instinctively. This often involves fixing the problem with minimal downtime, then providing the necessary incremental security to protect against an identical attack. The authors warn that this approach often contaminates evidence and makes it difficult to track the perpetrator. This book describes how to maximize system uptime while protecting the integrity of the "crime scene."

The bulk of Computer Forensics details the technical skills required to become an effective electronic sleuth, with an emphasis on providing a well-documented basis for a criminal investigation. The key to success is becoming a "white hat" hacker in order to combat the criminal "black hat" hackers. The message is clear: if you're not smart enough to break into someone else's system, you're probably not smart enough to catch someone breaking into your system. In this vein, the authors use a number of technical examples and encourage the readers to develop expertise in Unix/Linux and Windows NT fundamentals. They also provide an overview of a number of third-party tools, many of which can be used for both tracking hackers and to probe your own systems.

The authors explain their investigative techniques via a number of real-world anecdotes. It is striking that many of the same hacks detailed in Cliff Stoll's classic The Cuckoo's Egg are still in use over 10 years later--both on the criminal and investigative fronts. It is up to individual companies whether or not to pursue each attempted security violation as a potential criminal case, but Computer Forensics provides a strong argument to consider doing so. --Pete Ostenson

Topics covered: Overview of computer crime investigative response, including extensive descriptions of hacking techniques. Frequent examples are used to demonstrate how to extract evidence from a violated computer system. Appendices include sample incident-response forms.


From Book News, Inc.
Just as regular police forensics focus on the information available at a crime scene, computer forensics looks at evidence that can be gleaned in the aftermath of a computer security incident. Two computer security professionals provide a methodology for collecting information that can lead to a perpetrator and prove useful in prosecutions. Chapters cover encryption, data hiding, hostile code, and introductions to forensics on Windows and Unix operating systems.Copyright © 2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR


Book Info
Written by two experts in digital investigation, and provides extensive information on how to handle the computer as evidence. Softcover.


From the Back Cover

"Computer Forensics, Incident Response Essentials is a phenomenal introduction to the tools and techniques for computer forensic response. The book listed a number of tools that I had never heard of before. I can't wait to download several of these and take them for a spin."--Stephen Northcutt, The SANS InstituteEvery computer crime leaves tracks—you just have to know where to find them. This book shows you how to collect and analyze the digital evidence left behind in a digital crime scene.Computers have always been susceptible to unwanted intrusions, but as the sophistication of computer technology increases so does the need to anticipate, and safeguard against, a corresponding rise in computer-related criminal activity.Computer forensics, the newest branch of computer security, focuses on the aftermath of a computer security incident. The goal of computer forensics is to conduct a structured investigation to determine exactly what happened, who was responsible, and to perform the investigation in such a way that the results are useful in a criminal proceeding.Written by two experts in digital investigation, Computer Forensics provides extensive information on how to handle the computer as evidence. Kruse and Heiser walk the reader through the complete forensics process—from the initial collection of evidence through the final report. Topics include an overview of the forensic relevance of encryption, the examination of digital evidence for clues, and the most effective way to present your evidence and conclusions in court. Unique forensic issues associated with both the Unix and the Windows NT/2000 operating systems are thoroughly covered.This book provides a detailed methodology for collecting, preserving, and effectively using evidence by addressing the three A's of computer forensics: Acquire the evidence without altering or damaging the original data. Authenticate that your recorded evidence is the same as the original seized data. Analyze the data without modifying the recovered data.Computer Forensics is written for everyone who is responsible for investigating digital criminal incidents or who may be interested in the techniques that such investigators use. It is equally helpful to those investigating hacked web servers, and those who are investigating the source of illegal pornography.

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About the Author


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Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Preface

Billions of dollars are lost annually to crime, and computers are increasingly involved. It is clear that law enforcement agencies need to investigate digital evidence, but does it make sense to encourage a bunch of computer administrators to become junior g-men? Do we really need amateur digital sleuths? In a word, yes. Bad things are happening on computers and to computers, and the organizations responsible for these computers have a need to find out what exactly happened. You probably cannot pick up the phone and bring in law enforcement officials every time something anomalous happens on one of your servers and expect them to send out a team of forensic specialists, and even if you could, your corporate executives may not want that. All major corporations have internal security departments that are quite busy performing internal investigations. However, the security professionals who typically fill this role are accustomed to dealing with theft and safety issues and are often ill-prepared to deal with computer crime.

This book is inspired by the needs of the people who attend the author's seminars on computer forensics. If for no other reason than these sold-out seminars, we know that there is a big demand for greater expertise in digital investigations. System administrators and corporate security staff are the people we've designed the book for. Most of the seminar attendees are fairly skilled in the use and maintenance of Microsoft environments. Some of them are Unix specialists, but many students have expressed a strong desire to learn more about Unix. Once a corporation discovers that they know someone who can investigate Windows incidents, it is assumed that he or she knows everything about computers, and it is usually only a matter of time until this person is pressured into taking a look at a suspect Unix system.

Our students come from a wide variety of backgrounds and have diverse investigatory needs and desires. We try to accommodate these varying agendas in this book, to which we bring our experience in investigation and incident response. Warren Kruse is a former police officer who regularly performs computer forensic examinations inside and outside of Lucent Technologies. Jay Heiser is an information security consultant who has been on the response teams for numerous hacked Internet servers. To the maximum extent possible, this book contains everything useful that we've learned from performing investigations and teaching others to do so for themselves. We know what questions will be asked, and this book is designed to answer them. It is a practical guide to the techniques used by real people to investigate real computer crimes.How to Read This Book

This book can be read cover to cover, as a complete introductory course in computer forensics. However, it is also meant to serve as a handbook, and we expect many readers to be familiar with some of the subjects we cover. For that reason, each chapter is a complete unit and can be read when convenient or necessary. You probably specialize in one or more of the areas covered in this text. However, we believe that the information presented in this book is at the minimum required level of legal and computer literacy, and we urge you to become knowledgeable in all of the areas we cover: legal, procedural, and technical.

A brief description of the information covered in each chapter is provided in the sections that follow.Introduction to Computer Forensics

Chapter 1 outlines the basic process of evidence collection and analysis, which is the meat of computer forensics. Even those readers with a background in law enforcement will find new techniques in this chapter that are specific to computer forensics.Tracking an Offender

The Internet is pervasive, and a high percentage of your investigations will involve either incoming or outgoing Internet traffic. The material in Chapter 2 will help you interpret the clues inside of email messages and news postings. It will also start you on the path toward becoming an Internet detective, using standard Internet services to perform remote investigations.The Basics of Hard Drives and Storage Media

For the computer sleuth, hard drives are the most significant containers of evidence. Chapter 3 provides an understanding of both their logical and their physical configurations. It covers partitions and low-level formatting, filesystems, and hardware drive interfaces.Encryption and Forensics

Cryptography has become ubiquitous in the virtual world of the Internet. A skilled investigator must have a solid understanding of the technology and goals of modern cryptography. It is relevant both in understanding evidence and, interestingly, in the preservation of evidence. Many investigators lack a necessary level of crypto-literacy, so Chapter 4 provides a broad introduction to encryption with special emphasis on its significance and application in computer forensics. We also discuss common encoding and archiving formats (such as uuencode and PKZIP) that can complicate your keyword searches. As digital signature technology grows in legal significance and finds new uses, forensic investigators will be expected to understand its limitations and must have a firm grasp of the ways in which a digital identity can be stolen. The digital timestamping of forensic evidence will soon become standard procedure in digital investigations. If you already have a background in these encryption concepts, then you may wish to skim this chapter.Data Hiding

Being able to find hidden data is a crucial investigative skill. Even if you are highly crypto-literate, you still may not be aware of steganography (the art of hiding information by embedding covert messages within other messages) and other data-hiding techniques. Continuing the subject of encryption, Chapter 5 describes the use of specific password-cracking tools that we have successfully used during our investigations. This chapter categorizes and describes the ways that data can be hidden–not just by encryption–and provides practical guidance on how to find and read hidden data.Hostile Code

Being able to identify and understand the implications of criminal tools is a skill that every investigator needs. Given that hostile code can be arcane and that few readers have a background in it, Chapter 6 provides an introduction to the topic and an overview of the types and capabilities of digital criminal tools that the investigator may encounter. We've included a couple of war stories involving the recent use of "hacker tools" on corporate PCs, which is becoming increasingly common.Your Electronic Toolkit

Although forensic-specific tools have a certain James Bond—like appeal–and we cover these products–a large percentage of your work will be done with system tools that were not specifically created for the unique needs of forensic investigation. Chapter 7 will introduce you to a wide variety of utility types and specific brand name tools, along with instructions in their use in a digital investigation.Investigating Windows Computers

Microsoft Windows, in all its various flavors, is the most widely used family of operating systems. While Chapter 8 assumes some background in Windows, you don't need to be a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer in order to apply the techniques and tricks we discuss. Emphasis is placed on Windows NT 4.0 and Windows 9x, but several important new Windows 2000 features, such as the Encrypting File System, are covered. An experienced investigator soon learns that nothing is too obsolete to be in daily use somewhere, so the chapter concludes with Windows 3.1—specific material.Introduction to Unix for Forensic Examiners

For those readers with no prior Unix experience, Chapter 9 provides an introduction with special emphasis on Unix characteristics that are most significant for the forensic investigator. Experienced Unix users can skim or skip this chapter.Compromising a Unix Host

Chapter 10 is intended as background material for the investigation of hacked Internet hosts. It describes the process that Unix attackers typically use and provides an understanding of the goals of typical system hackers.Investigating a Unix Host

While emphasizing the investigation of hacked Unix hosts, Chapter 11 describes techniques that are applicable to all forms of Unix investigation. It contains a detailed set of Unix-specific techniques and processes that use common Unix utilities for collecting and evaluating evidence. It also contains instructions on using a Unix boot CD to capture information over a network when you can't attach hardware directly to a suspect system.Introduction to the Criminal Justice System

The final chapter explains what you need to do after you have begun collecting evidence and provides an overview of the criminal justice process. Legal concepts such as affidavits, subpoenas, and warrants are described. You will be a more effective interface between your organization and law enforcement agents if you understand what they do and how both investigations and prosecutions are structured by the legal system.Appendixes

As in most books, the appendixes in this one contain information that doesn't fit neatly anywhere else. They are standalone guides to specific needs.

Appendix A, Internet Data Center Response Plan, defines a process for handling computer security incidents in Internet Data Centers.

Appendix B, Incident Response Triage, provides a list of general questions that should be asked during the investigation of a computer crime incident.

Appendix C, How to Become a Unix Guru, provides self-study suggestions for forensic examiners who want to improve their ability to investigate Unix hosts.

Appendix D, Exporting a Windows 2000 Personal Certificate, graphically depicts the process of exporting a Personal Certificate from a Windows 2000 computer. Investigators should practice this process to prepare themselves for incidents involving the Encrypted File System.

Appendix E, How to Crowbar Unix Hosts, describes the process of gaining administrative access to a Unix system by booting it from a floppy or CD.

Appendix F, Creating a Linux Boot CD, provides several suggestions on techniques and technology sources that are useful in the creation of bootable Linux CDs that can be used to crowbar Unix or NT systems. Booting from a Linux CD can also provide a trusted environment useful for examining or collecting evidence when it is not feasible to remove the hard drive from a system.

Appendix G, Contents of a Forensic CD, provides a shopping list of useful tools that should be considered the minimum set of forensic utilities that an examiner brings during an incident response.

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FROM THE PUBLISHER

"Computer Forensics, Incident Response Essentials is a phenomenal introduction to the tools and techniques for computer forensic response. The book listed a number of tools that I had never heard of before. I can't wait to download several of these and take them for a spin."—Stephen Northcutt, The SANS Institute

Every computer crime leaves tracks—you just have to know where to find them. This book shows you how to collect and analyze the digital evidence left behind in a digital crime scene.

Computers have always been susceptible to unwanted intrusions, but as the sophistication of computer technology increases so does the need to anticipate, and safeguard against, a corresponding rise in computer-related criminal activity.

Computer forensics, the newest branch of computer security, focuses on the aftermath of a computer security incident. The goal of computer forensics is to conduct a structured investigation to determine exactly what happened, who was responsible, and to perform the investigation in such a way that the results are useful in a criminal proceeding.

Written by two experts in digital investigation, Computer Forensics provides extensive information on how to handle the computer as evidence. Kruse and Heiser walk the reader through the complete forensics process—from the initial collection of evidence through the final report. Topics include an overview of the forensic relevance of encryption, the examination of digital evidence for clues, and the most effective way to present your evidence and conclusions in court. Unique forensic issues associated with both the Unix and theWindows NT/2000 operating systems are thoroughly covered.

This book provides a detailed methodology for collecting, preserving, and effectively using evidence by addressing the three A's of computer forensics: Acquire the evidence without altering or damaging the original data. Authenticate that your recorded evidence is the same as the original seized data. Analyze the data without modifying the recovered data.

Computer Forensics is written for everyone who is responsible for investigating digital criminal incidents or who may be interested in the techniques that such investigators use. It is equally helpful to those investigating hacked web servers, and those who are investigating the source of illegal pornography.

SYNOPSIS

Just as regular police forensics focus on the information available at a crime scene, computer forensics looks at evidence that can be gleaned in the aftermath of a computer security incident. Two computer security professionals provide a methodology for collecting information that can lead to a perpetrator and prove useful in prosecutions. Chapters cover encryption, data hiding, hostile code, and introductions to forensics on Windows and Unix operating systems.

Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

AUTHOR DESCRIPTION

Warren G. Kruse II, a former police officer, has been with Lucent Technologies' Corporate Computer and Network Security Organization as an Investigations Manager since 1998. He has received specialized training in computer forensics from the International Association of Computer Investigating Specialists and the Nation White Collar Crime Center. He is a member of the US Secret Service Electronic Crime Task Force, and gives a popular forensics class at SANS.

Jay Heiser is Senior Information Security Consultant for Lucent, based in Austria.

ACCREDITATION