Do narcs make the best DF/IR investigators?
The digital forensics field attracts a wide range of professionals from diverse backgrounds. Still, one trend that caught my curiosity years ago was the number of narcotics investigators (“narcs”) that I met who transitioned into digital…
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Mirror Image Mindset: Thinking Like a Cybercriminal, Hacker, Criminal, and Computer User
“Thinking like your adversary” is a cornerstone of effective investigations. But there is a common misconception: thinking like your adversary (aka: mirror image mindset) doesn’t mean becoming the person you’re investigating. It’s not an…
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DF/IR: One Station in the Assembly Line
I’ve got to give credit where it’s due: Brigs, the DF/IR Meme Master, knows how to poke fun at our collective sense of importance. One of his recent memes nailed an uncomfortable truth: as much as we value our DF/IR work, it’s not always the center of…
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Raising the Bar: Establishing a Common Baseline in DFIR
There’s a growing conversation on social media in DFIR around what every practitioner, especially at the entry level, should know before turning on a computer to work a case. Technology’s sheer complexity and advancing pace makes formal, standardized…
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The Final DFIR Investigative Mindset Book Challenge of 2024 – Only 100 Spots Available!
Earlier this year, I hosted the DFIR Investigative Mindset Book Challenge, and the response was incredible. Nearly 1,000 DFIR practitioners signed up to enhance their investigative skills and earn a free copy of DFIR Investigative Mindset. While the…
Read MoreA New DFIR Investigative Mindset Book Challenge is Coming…
I’m bringing back the DFIR Investigative Mindset book challenge one more time. I planned to make this a one-time event with 1,000 signups. Here is the wrench in that plan: Of the 1,000 that signed up, only 787 completed the challenge. The…
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DFIR’s Degree Debate: Do Degrees Deliver, or Does Direct Experience Dominate in Digital Forensics?
There’s an ongoing debate in DFIR: some believe a college degree is essential, while others argue that hands-on experience often matters more. Both sides have a point. With that, this field does need structured standards like other professions, but we…
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DFIR Investigative Strategies
I’m thrilled to share an early look at Placing the Suspect Behind the Keyboard, Vol 3: DFIR Investigative Strategies, set for release in 2025. This book is crafted to push beyond the bounds of traditional DFIR. It’s more than a manual—it’s a…
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AI in the DFIR Crosshairs
AI in the DFIR Crosshairs: How AI Fits into Digital Forensics One of the most important rules in science and in Digital Forensics and Incident Response (DFIR)—is repeatability. This means that if you follow the same steps under the same conditions, you…
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Trust me. I’m an Expert.
We’ve all heard the phrase, “Trust the experts,” implying that advanced degrees and years of experience guarantee the correct answer. But experts are still human—and humans make mistakes. Throughout history, even the brightest minds have been wrong due…
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