Computer Forensic: Space and Tools

Recommend the physical space that the organization should put in place, to support this work at both MegaCorp and what would be contractually required for the forensics partner to do their work off-site.

A forensic laboratory works hand in hand with many partners to achieve their goals. Their goal is usually to analyze forensic information and come up with data that will be helpful in solving police cases. The laboratory should therefore be located in an area where free flow of information is easy without being tampered with. The laboratory should be in the same building as a police station, or a building nearby. It means that information can be exchanged easily and that integrity of the investigations being done is preserved. Thus, the investigations done there will be trusted in, as they will be credible (Capella, 2012).

The laboratory should be equipped with state of the art equipment that enables it to be able to work efficiently. It should be fitted with specialty spaces that uniquely cater for the work that will be done in the laboratory. The laboratory will be built in such a way that it has enough work surfaces, storage areas that are protected from evidence tampering or contamination and fitted with forensic tools. The laboratory will be run by a fully qualified forensics partner who has experience on how to run and maintain a forensics laboratory.

The laboratory should have full access to other amenities so that the analysts can do their work well. It should be have access to electricity, water, forensic tools, computers, telephones, internet, office furniture and fit with cameras to ensure security is never compromised. The presence of computers ensures that there is evidence incase of any mistakes carried out in the laboratory. There should also be evidence lockers where evidence can be stored safely. Incase a forensic scientist has to work off-site there should be equipment that will make his or her work credible. They should have storage cases that will ease traveling and packing for work, wide assortment of adapters, multi-card readers, hardware, write blockers and seizure toolbox. All these things will help to achieve the goals of a forensic laboratory (Rider, 2002).

Recommend the categories of tools that MegaCorp needs to purchase to support this work on-site and what categories of tools would be contractually required for the forensics partner to do their work off-site.

Computers play a major role in a forensic laboratory. Thus when on-site there is a dire need for a good computer network that links the computer not only in with computers in the laboratory but also other computers in the world through internet. The computers should have fast Random Access Memory, CPUs that have big screens and high resolution, and hard disks that can store a lot of memory. They should be fitted with operating systems that fit the kind of work they do such as Linux, windows seven or in VM environment. When off-site there are tools, which are mandatory to have. There should have portable forensic equipment. They should be mostly mobile, for instance laptops, forensic talons and hardcopy.

A good laboratory should have equipment that can be used both on-site and off-site. The general equipments found are;

Forensic ultra dock fitted with six v4 combo adapters.
State of the art hard and micro drives. This ensures that all the information collected is stored well and can be retrieved at will.
Hot plugs that can be able seize and remove PC from different areas within its scope without shutting it down.
Platforms to have in which its scientists are free to come up with innovative ideas to improve the practice.
Necessary software to facilitate the recording and presentation of forensic data such as SPSS
Printers and scanners
A cross platform application for digital forensics and e-discovery

Identify the advantages and disadvantages of having dedicated space within MegaCorp for this work

Advantages	Disadvantages
It is the least expensive method of carrying out research.	It involves a lot of time investment.
The response time is very quick compared to other methods.	It requires investigators that are experienced and multi-skilled.
There is no need for outside intervention as it might lead to damaging of the evidence that is being handled.	Sometimes the whole process lacks integrity and therefore it is not trusted.
It has enough potential to develop an in-house forensic team to act as auditors.	It calls for the laboratory to have technical diversity
The security staff hired knows the system.	It requires constant awareness of hacker tools, methods, forensic tools and relevant legislation. Moreover, forensic companies are only funded by the state and the funds are not enough to cater for all the companies needs. The budgets they have only allow for the required training and resources to maintain the required expertise.

Provide a detailed plan for how you will ensure that the MegaCorp forensics partner is able to meet these contractual obligations prior to signing the contract and that it continues to be an appropriate partner into the future.

In forensic science you cannot be equipped with knowledge in every aspect therefore it is important that the firm employs specialists in every aspect so that they can cater for every arising issue. IT specialists will cater for all issues that arise from equipment malfunction, as most of them are IT related. Forensic scientists will specialize in solving the mysteries that come along with what they are supposed to study. Forensic science is diverse and innovations come up everyday requiring the parties concerned to be on top of their game all the time.

MegaCorp therefore has to ensure it keeps abreast with all these changes and findings. It needs to employ structures that make sure they are not left behind with the changing times of the world. It needs to partner up with NIST and state agencies so that it can have more than enough state funding. This will ensure that they will always have some cash set aside to try out new inventions and come up with their own innovations (Mohr, 2005).

Reference:

Capella Element K, (2012).Computer Forensic Tutorial. Retrieved at http://www.capella.edu

Denmark, A. and Michael, M. (2010).Forensic Magazine. Digital Forensics: Architectural and Engineering Facility Design Requirements. Retrieved at http://www.forensicmag.com/article/digital-forensics-architectural-and-engineering-facility-design-requirements?page=0,4

Mohr, K. (2005). Forensic Magazine. The Benefits of Partnerships. Retrieved at http://www.forensicmag.com/article/benefits-partnerships?page=0,2

Nelson, B., Phillips, A., Enfinger, F., Steurt, C. (2008) Guide to computer forensics and investigations

Ryder, K. (2002). SANS-Computer Forensics- “We’ve had an incident, who do we get to investigate?” Retrieved at ttp://www.sans.org/reading_room/whitepapers/incident/computer-forensics-weve-incident-investigate_652