Many cyberincidents can be handled more efficiently and
effectively if forensics considerations are incorporated
into the information system life cycle. Examples of such
considerations follow:
• Perform regular backups of systems and maintain
previous backups for a specific period of time.
• Enable auditing on workstations, servers and
network devices.
• Forward audit records to secure centralized log
servers.
• Configure mission-critical applications to perform
auditing and include the recording of all authentication
attempts.
• Maintain a database of file hashes for the files
of common operating system and application
deployments, and use file integrity checking software
on particularly important assets.
• Maintain records (e.g., baselines) of network and
system configurations.
• Establish data retention policies that support the
performance of historical reviews of system and
network activity, comply with requests or requirements
to preserve data that are related to ongoing litigation
and investigations, and destroy data that are no longer
needed.21
DIGITAL FORENSICS SCIENTIFIC PROCESS
Ken Zatyko, the former director of the Defense Computer
Forensics Laboratory, defined the following eight-step
digital forensics scientific process:22
1. Obtain search authority—In a legal investigation,
legal authority is required to conduct a search or
seizure of data.
2. Document chain of custody—In legal contexts,
chronological documentation of evidence handling is
required to avoid allegations of evidence tampering or
misconduct.