Digital Evidence and Computer Crime —— Forensic Science, Computers, and the Internet

Required for a graduate level digital forensics course. I had taken another one before in the Information Assurance major and that class used the Bill Nelson textbook. While Nelson's book delivered more lab exercises for actually harvesting digital data, Casey's book focuses more on the elements inherent in the field of digital forensics. Chain of custody and legal procedure are critical to success if digital "evidence" is to be accepted in court. The TV shows where the detective looks at a suspect's cell phone and finds a clue immediately is not proper procedure. Accessing a suspect's computer as shown on TV also does not happen since a bit by bit forensic copy must be made first and all operations occur using the copy thereby preserving the original. There have been strides made in laws regarding digital evidence, however, judges deciding cases involving digital evidence also need to be equipped to comprehend the significance of data on digital devices and how it all works. One flaming example of a judge out of her depth is Judge Lucy Koh during the Samsung tablet v. Apple iPad case. While holding up the two tablets, Koh asked Samsung attorneys to identify which table was Samsung. The patent infringement lawsuit had little to do with the exterior hard case of the tablets and everything to do with its operating system and how data was processed. Casey makes it clear that digital forensics is more about the appropriate processing & handling of digital device evidence, according to venue, and less about whether there is a treasure trove of data clues staring police detectives/federal agents in the face like tempting fruit on a forbidden tree. He also presents the tricky navigating that needs to occur since laws regarding digital device evidence processing & use in court vary widely across the globe. I like Casey's use of language. I like that he seldom uses "for example" and substitutes "for instance." I like the in-depth and meticulous material. It is the hallmark of a person who knows so much and wants to impart as much of it as possible. Thank you Eoghan Casey for sharing your wealth of knowledge with the community of potential digital forensic investigators.

Excellent

Did Casey get paid by the page?!? It's obvious that Casey knows his stuff, but this book is way too long for what it offers. It is repetitive from chapter to chapter. This may be good for those people who only learning through repetition, but it's wasted effort for anyone else. There is an entire chapter on European cybercrime law, but the only relevant national legislation reviewed is from England, Ireland, and the Netherlands. This is probably because those are the countries he could get an expert from, but again, it's a waste of space. As a reader, if you need to cover specific national legislation, then you'll need more than this chapter, if you don't then again, this chapter is a waste. 100 pages to basically say, "Europe is different than the US". Wow, thanks, I would've never guessed. This book is not specific enough (no technical details or procedures within) for more than an overview of digital forensic principles, but yet it's too long to be a good overview for people just getting started. 3 stars, because other than the length, there is nothing particularly wrong with the content, but yet, I can't recommend it to anyone. I can't see a reason to need this book except as mandatory reading for a class.

Great for an introduction to digital forensics. Use cases provided throughout help apply the concepts taught. Large amount of book spent on the legal aspects of forensics and applying the scientific methodology to the digital investigative process.

Great product, fast shipping, exactly as described, highly recommended, would deal with again.

Required reading for one of my course's in computer forensics. Liked the price over what was being charged int he local bookstore.

Good book, good material, great quality. (Bought for a class in graduate studies).

Textbook for class but good info.

This is roughly the format of this book: Simple concepts explained in excruciating detail that can rarely be applied. Simple case studies that almost have something to do with the concepts but, on the whole, distract from the concepts. Amalgams of concepts and case studies that leave you wondering what the purpose is of all these things you're reading. If you're looking into getting into digital forensics I can't say this is a good way to start. Though, to be fair, a few of my classmates seemed to love it.

This is a very good book, which is well written and provides a comprehensive guide for understanding the recovery of digital evidence in computer crime. Casey is well respected in the industry and this is apparent from the contributions from other respected colleagues in this book. The chapters are well structured and good references are made to real world scenarios throughout, which demonstrates how the theory is applied. Would highly recommend this for anyone interested in the subject matter.