Review of Digital Triage Forensics Posted

Amazon.com just published my two star review of Digital Triage Forensics: Processing the Digital Crime Scene by Stephen Pearson and Richard Watson. From the review:

I have to preface this review by saying my criticism of this book should not be taken as criticism of the brave men and women who put their lives on the line fighting for our freedom in Southwest Asia (SWA). I'm reviewing the book "Digital Triage Forensics" (DTF), not the people who wrote it or the people who rely on the concepts therein.

DTF is a misleading, disappointing book. The subtitle is "processing the digital crime scene." The back cover says "the expert's model for investigating cyber crimes," and it claims "now corporations, law enforcement, and consultants can benefit from the unique perspectives of the experts who pioneered DTF." That sounds promising, right? It turns out that DTF is essentially a handbook for Weapon Intelligence Teams (WITs) who deploy to Iraq and Afghanistan to collect battlefield intelligence before and after Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) detonate! I cannot fathom why Syngress published this book, when the intended audience probably numbers in the dozens. Unless you need to learn the basics of how to collect cell phones and hard drive images to provide "actionable intelligence" to warfighters, you can avoid reading DTF.

Comments

Anonymous said…
It's seems clear that the term 'forensic' is sliding downhill. It is gradually losing all connection with the court-room and 'public inquiry', and is becoming a synonym for 'investigation'.
2:13 AM
Anonymous said…
In my view, digital investigations are a superset of digital forensics: the latter occurs when the intent is to provide results that may be entered as evidence in a court of law. Techniques are similar, but not identical.
8:23 AM
Anonymous said…
While there is a growing need for some type of triage...

This book appears to be nothing more than a training manual for the authors training class and a show of support for the vendors whose tools are pushed in those classes...

This definitely missed the mark, is misleading as a description, and representative of much of what Syngress is trying to push out based on the "johnny come lately" CSI Effect...

Very disappointed in the quality and marketing...
1:06 PM
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