In your initial post this week, role play that you are working as a digital forensics investigator for a private cybersecurity firm. As the lead investigator, you have been assigned to investigate a data breach that occurred at a small company named Lindsey’s Technical Solutions, Inc. Key Facts:
- Lindsey’s Technical Solutions, Inc. has approximately 50 employees. They provide services to various clients, including financial institutions, and government agencies.
- Sensitive client data, including financial reocrds, intellectual property, and personally identifiable information (PII), was potentially exposed.
- The breach occurred over a three month period and was first suspected in January 2023. Suspicious activities were reported by several clients and revealed the breach.
- Lindsey’s Technical Solutions, Inc. is a cybersecurity firm that specializes in providing advanced solutions to its clients.
Discussion QuestionsYour task as the lead investigator is to conduct a digital forensics investigation to gather evidence that can be used in court if necessary. For this discussion, we will use the following as an outline for completing a forensics investigation and the initial post.
- Evidence aquisition – Document the steps you would take to secure and preserve the digital evidence, include the creation of the chain of custody log and ensuring the integrity of the evidence. Identify the potential sources of evidence and describe why they are considered.
- Data analysis – Describe the hardware and software tools you wo-uld use for acquiring data from various sources (e.g., computers, servers, mobile devices, external drives, etc.).
- Timeline reconstruction – What will you include in your timeline reconstruction?
- Legal considerations – What legal and ethical aspects should be considered in a digital forensics investigation?
- Evidence presentation – Prepare a post that summarizes your findings of the above steps. You may include visual aids, such as timelines, charts, and/or graphs. Your presentation should be in a clear and understandable manner.
