Security Basics mailing list archives
RE: Is a career change to Computer Forensics fantasy or can it be reality?
From: "Justin Ross" <RossJ () sddpc org>
Date: Wed, 13 Dec 2006 13:26:20 -0800
** Routed Mail. Please reply when completed ** This is a great thread for a myriad of reasons. Certification isn't necessary to qualify as an expert witness; however, a career in comp. forensics will most likely lead to the witness stand (as an expert or otherwise) eventually. Certifications could make the experts opinion "weigh heavier" over another, and increase the credibility... experience without certifications could as well. I'm reminded of an excellent book on the topic of computer forensics and expert witness testimony that addresses this particular issue and many others (not a sales pitch, I have no monetary interest in the book and I get no money from the link, just an excellent book on the topic IMHO): "A discussion of the film My Cousin Vinny offers a lighthearted account of the problems that a technical expert encounters while testifying in court. In the film, the community of expertise represented by the character Mona Lisa Vito (played to perfection by Marisa Tomei) is that of the automobile mechanic. This particular community reminds us that certain roles associated with IT are rapidly becoming as commonly accepted as those of the car mechanic or washing machine repairperson. That these areas of expertise are generally recognized and often encountered illustrates another aspect of the community of interest. In this scenario, too many members claim an expertise with too little self-regulation, peer review, and evaluation by a recognized community of professionals. This erodes the ability to separate the charlatans from the qualified and recognized practitioners of the IT trades."1 Certifications and experience can go a long way into helping a case, but ultimately "the expert with all the facts and the competence and experience to comprehend their meaning wins"1 A must read for anyone in computer forensics IMO: 1 - quoted from A Guide to Forensic Testimony: The Art and Practice of Presenting Testimony as an Expert Technical Witness (http://www.amazon.com/Guide-Forensic-Testimony-Presenting-Technical/dp/0201752794/sr=8-1/qid=1166043917/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-1439725-4190364?ie=UTF8&s=books) Justin.Ross SDDPC
"Murda Mcloud" <murdamcloud () bigpond com> 12/12/2006 10:44:51 PM >>>
This is quite an interesting article relating to this point-I thought Paula simply meant that the expert had to be 'tested' so to speak before being allowed to be heard in a trial. http://www.scl.org/editorial.asp?i=1416 -----Original Message----- From: listbounce () securityfocus com [mailto:listbounce () securityfocus com] On Behalf Of Craig Wright Sent: Monday, December 11, 2006 8:33 AM To: security-basics () securityfocus com Subject: FW: Is a career change to Computer Forensics fantasy or can it bereality? What planet are you from? The comment "To testify as an expert you must be "certified" to do so by the Court." Is just BS! The parties and the court accept the expert or they counter with other "experts". This allows them to introduce "opinion". Their testimony is weighted based on their credibility. As an example... AU EVIDENCE ACT 1995 - SECT 79 Exception: opinions based on specialised knowledge If a person has specialised knowledge based on the person's training, study or experience, the opinion rule does not apply to evidence of an opinion of that person that is wholly or substantially based on that knowledge. And ... UK "If matters arise in our law which concern other sciences or faculties, we commonly apply for the aid of that science or faculty which it concerns" Buckley v Rice Thomas (1554) The expert witness is, thus, an exception to the exclusionary rule and is permitted to give opinion evidence. In civil litigation this has statutory authority in the UK: "Where a person is called as a witness in any civil proceedings, his opinion on any relevant matter on which he is qualified to give expert evidence shall be admissible in evidence" Civil Evidence Act 1972, S.3 (1). I can keep going on US, ECJ etc if you wish, but the fact is that there is nothing to "certify" an expert. In Sub-juris cases you have to be able to convince the justices of your merit. When in front of a Jury, you need to convince them. At the same time the opposing council will try to tear down your credibility. The duty of an expert is to the court! Not to any party - even the one paying you. Truth first, loyalty to the court. See the guidelines below. And as for how an expert should behave... http://www.fedcourt.gov.au/how/prac_direction.html Regards, Craig -----Original Message----- From: listbounce () securityfocus com [mailto:listbounce () securityfocus com] On Behalf Of Paula McPherson Sent: Friday, 8 December 2006 9:24 PM To: gillettdavid () fhda edu; reapersoft () gmail com; security-basics () securityfocus com Subject: RE: Is a career change to Computer Forensics fantasy or can it bereality? To testify as an expert you must be "certified" to do so by the Court. Either through a voir dire of your Vitae (examination and cross-examination of one's professional expertise including review of all published works) or stipulation of parties, one way or the other the dude taking the stand has to be a hardware and software God. Though I came from a legal background, I did not come to system security late; I had to wait for them to upgrade the abacas. -----Original Message----- From: listbounce () securityfocus com [mailto:listbounce () securityfocus com] On Behalf Of David Gillett Sent: Wednesday, December 06, 2006 7:41 PM To: reapersoft () gmail com; security-basics () securityfocus com Subject: RE: Is a career change to Computer Forensics fantasy or can it be reality?
There has always been a conflict in my mind that one who
persues Forensics needs to first be a Security/IT type, I
have seen where this looks to be true and where it does not,
perhaps someone can comment on that.
There are at least two common definitions of "Computer Forensics", which *do* overlap. Undoubtedly, some of the sources you've seen are using one and some another. 1. Investigation of Computer Security Incidents A lot of this is recognizing what's abnormal and figuring out how it came about. Obviously, someone without an IT background is going to be ill-equipped for this. 2. Recovering Evidence from Computer Systems This is all about being able to testify, as necessary, at termination hearings, lawsuits, and even criminal trials, as to things like standard procedures, sanitary methods, chain of custody, and the like. Detailed IT knowledge is helpful, but is more essential to tool authors than to tool users. Although the evidence is stored in a digital information system, the acts of which it provides evidence need not involve any violation of computer security, but are more often evidence of fraud, infidelity, or other sorts of non-computer malfeasance. Certifications come in both flavors, too. My impression is that the particular certs you've listed are attempting to certify expertise under the first definition; under the second, courts have decided to accept evidence retrieved by a few specific tools *when used by a vendor- certified operator*, and so each tool has its vendor certification program. (Jobs in the second category have so far mostly been with law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies, although I expect that at some point there will begin to be a market for these skills on the defendant side as well.) To those who use the second definition, activities under the first definition are a subset of "Incident Response", and you may find it easier to get into that general field and then specialize in the particular aspect that interests you, than to try to go directly into specialization. David Gillett
-----Original Message-----
From: listbounce () securityfocus com
[mailto:listbounce () securityfocus com] On Behalf Of
reapersoft () gmail com
Sent: Tuesday, December 05, 2006 5:04 AM
To: security-basics () securityfocus com
Subject: Is a career change to Computer Forensics fantasy or
can it be reality?
Hello,
I am a software engineer working in the VoIP space. I am
looking to change my career path and get into Computer Forensics.
Without any experience its going to be a tough road but I
believe my troubleshooting skills and software experience can
help. My troubleshooting ability can be valuable on the
investigation side of things, I generally will "chew" on a
problem until its solved or at least until I have another way
to debug it and gather more information. My programming
skills can come in handy for gathering information during an
investigation when its a network intrusion or for malware
analysis, at least this is my reasoning.
Some things I am doing now is reading books (File System
Forensic Analysis, Real Digital Forensic etc...) and
listening to relevant podcasts but that only takes one so
far. My other thought is to get one of the many
certifications out there so that when I attempt to gain
employment I am at least showing some initiative and not just
a passing interest in the field. Spending some of my own
money shows a committment to my goal.
There has always been a conflict in my mind that one who
persues Forensics needs to first be a Security/IT type, I
have seen where this looks to be true and where it does not,
perhaps someone can comment on that.
I am looking for opinions on what certifications I might
spend my money on. Should I go with a security cert, a pure
forensics cert, some combination of both or neither.
Some of the Forensic specific certs I have been evaluating
are the SANS GCFA and ISFCE CCE.
I have posted this to the SecurityFocus Forensics list but it
was rejected because it was off topic. I did however get
some good feedback from the lists' moderator, thanks for that!
I wish to get some more feedback from others so hopefully the
Basics list is the place to post.
In a nutshell:
Can one get into the field of Computer Forensics thru self
study and getting a certification or is it such a closed
field that I should look elsewhere for a career change and
not waste my time/money?
Is the field primarily based on experience and not certs?
Any and all opinions are welcome.
Thanks in advance,
MH
--------------------------------------------------------------
-------------
This list is sponsored by: ByteCrusher
Detect Malicious Web Content and Exploits in Real-Time.
Anti-Virus engines can't detect unknown or new threats.
LinkScanner can. Web surfing just became a whole lot safer.
http://www.explabs.com/staging/promotions/xern_lspro.asp?loc=s
fmaildetect
--------------------------------------------------------------
-------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------ --- This list is sponsored by: ByteCrusher Detect Malicious Web Content and Exploits in Real-Time. Anti-Virus engines can't detect unknown or new threats. LinkScanner can. Web surfing just became a whole lot safer. http://www.explabs.com/staging/promotions/xern_lspro.asp?loc=sfmaildetec t ------------------------------------------------------------------------ --- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ --- This list is sponsored by: ByteCrusher Detect Malicious Web Content and Exploits in Real-Time. Anti-Virus engines can't detect unknown or new threats. LinkScanner can. Web surfing just became a whole lot safer. http://www.explabs.com/staging/promotions/xern_lspro.asp?loc=sfmaildetec t ------------------------------------------------------------------------ --- Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation in respect of matters arising within those States and Territories of Australia where such legislation exists. DISCLAIMER The information contained in this email and any attachments is confidential. If you are not the intended recipient, you must not use or disclose the information. If you have received this email in error, please inform us promptly by reply email or by telephoning +61 2 9286 5555. Please delete the email and destroy any printed copy. Any views expressed in this message are those of the individual sender. You may not rely on this message as advice unless it has been electronically signed by a Partner of BDO or it is subsequently confirmed by letter or fax signed by a Partner of BDO. BDO accepts no liability for any damage caused by this email or its attachments due to viruses, interference, interception, corruption or unauthorised access. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- This list is sponsored by: ByteCrusher Detect Malicious Web Content and Exploits in Real-Time. Anti-Virus engines can't detect unknown or new threats. LinkScanner can. Web surfing just became a whole lot safer. http://www.explabs.com/staging/promotions/xern_lspro.asp?loc=sfmaildetect --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- This list is sponsored by: ByteCrusher Detect Malicious Web Content and Exploits in Real-Time. Anti-Virus engines can't detect unknown or new threats. LinkScanner can. Web surfing just became a whole lot safer. http://www.explabs.com/staging/promotions/xern_lspro.asp?loc=sfmaildetect --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- This list is sponsored by: ByteCrusher Detect Malicious Web Content and Exploits in Real-Time. Anti-Virus engines can't detect unknown or new threats. LinkScanner can. Web surfing just became a whole lot safer. http://www.explabs.com/staging/promotions/xern_lspro.asp?loc=sfmaildetect ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Current thread:
- Is a career change to Computer Forensics fantasy or can it be reality? reapersoft (Dec 06)
- RE: Is a career change to Computer Forensics fantasy or can it be reality? David Gillett (Dec 07)
- RE: Is a career change to Computer Forensics fantasy or can it be reality? Paula McPherson (Dec 08)
- RE: Is a career change to Computer Forensics fantasy or can it be reality? David Gillett (Dec 12)
- RE: Is a career change to Computer Forensics fantasy or can it be reality? Paula McPherson (Dec 08)
- Re: Is a career change to Computer Forensics fantasy or can it be reality? Kurt Buff (Dec 07)
- <Possible follow-ups>
- Re: Is a career change to Computer Forensics fantasy or can it be reality? reapersoft (Dec 08)
- Re: Is a career change to Computer Forensics fantasy or can it be reality? reapersoft (Dec 12)
- Re: RE: Is a career change to Computer Forensics fantasy or can it be reality? qxlr (Dec 13)
- RE: Is a career change to Computer Forensics fantasy or can it be reality? Justin Ross (Dec 13)
- RE: Is a career change to Computer Forensics fantasy or can it be reality? David Gillett (Dec 07)