Defense and Digital Forensics
Incident response lifecycle, evidence preservation, timeline correlation, and root-cause reporting
Become the digital investigator in the room when an incident happens. Master the NIST/SANS Incident Response lifecycle, disk and memory forensics evidence preservation, log timeline reconstruction, threat hunting mapped to MITRE ATT&CK, and court-admissible forensic reporting.
Course Specifications
Syllabus & Learning Rooms (8)
Progressive sequence of concept briefings, hands-on terminal flag challenges, and a capstone boss assessment.
Logs: your black box
Lesson BriefAuth logs, web server traces, and system journal logging architectures.
Lab: Find the brute-force
Hands-on LabInvestigate SSH authentication logs to pinpoint source IP and target accounts.
The incident response lifecycle
Lesson BriefPreparation, Detection, Containment, Eradication, Recovery, Lessons Learned.
Digital forensics basics
Lesson BriefBit-stream forensic copies, cryptographic hashes, and chain of custody documentation.
Lab: Timeline the breach
Hands-on LabCorrelate disconnected VPN, email, and firewall logs to reconstruct attack chronologies.
Threat hunting and detection
Lesson BriefHypothesis-driven threat hunting against adversary tactics and persistence.
Writing the incident report
Lesson BriefDocumenting breach scope, compromised assets, impact, and preventive controls.
Boss: Run an incident
Boss ChallengeCoordinate containment, evidence acquisition, and recovery during a simulated live breach.
Skills You Will Master
Every concept is tested against real-world target scenarios, log files, or code repositories.
- Incident response lifecycle execution (Preparation to Lessons Learned)
- Forensic disk and memory acquisition & chain of custody preservation
- Order of volatility: capturing ephemeral state before reboot
- Multi-log correlation (SSH, VPN, firewall, mail) and chronological timeline synthesis
- Threat hunting mapped against MITRE ATT&CK matrix
- Root-cause analysis and court-admissible forensic documentation
Prerequisites
- Operating systems basics, network logs experience, and command line proficiency
Associated Career Roles
Devwalls Certified Incident Responder and Forensics Analyst
Upon completing all 8 rooms, you unlock the official proctor-free examination. Score 70% or higher to earn this credential, complete with LinkedIn integration, PDF generation, and public verification ID.
Frequently Asked Questions about Defense and Digital Forensics
Are these skills applicable to SOC Analyst positions?
Yes! Incident response and forensics are the primary competencies tested in Tier 2 and Tier 3 SOC interviews worldwide.
Ready to master Defense and Digital Forensics?
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