Creating A Forensics Lab

by atlas stark

Nothing is quite as satisfying as getting your hands dirty and working with some hardware, especially when it pertains to setting up your very own DIY digital forensics lab.  Imagine being able to perform high level digital forensics on a variety of devices and file systems just like the professionals you read about in blog posts or whitepapers.  Setting up the lab environment is more straightforward than you might think. With the advancements in open-source platforms and readily available equipment, this process has become less painstaking, and a bit more affordable, as forensic equipment can be a bit pricey at times, largely because it has the word ‘forensics’ in front of the item for sale or lease.  In this article, we will learn how to set up a lab environment from start to finish, items to consider for your needs, software requirements, and any additional bells and whistles that may or may not improve the effectiveness of your digital forensics laboratory.  So, join me as we embark on this endeavour and by the end, we will have a fully functional lab to perform a variety of forensic tasks.

In this article, we will explore many items, some we will implement and some that will be categorized as optional for your reference later.  We will be taking this step by step to ensure we fully understand each requirement, plus it helps keep things organized into sections for review later, and with forensics, you can never be too organized.....