Final Project

PART 1

In the course of this investigation you, as the InfoSec Specialist for Greenwood Company, have or will need to interview (or perhaps “interrogate”) several people to provide context for the evidence you have collected as well as the rational for your searches. Greenwood Company management is asking for everything to be documented and would like you to provide them responses to the following pieces of information:

• Provide a list of people you believe should be interviewed for this investigation. 
• Provide a narrative description of the interview setting and the intended process, before, during and following the interview.
• Explain to the management why these stages are important to a successful interview and investigation.

PART 2

For the purpose of the first part of this Project, you are still the InfoSec Specialist for the Greenwood Company. Consider this project a continuation of the work you performed in Projects 1 and 2.

After seeing you search Mr. McBride’s work area and take several pieces of evidence, Ms. Maria Flores, who works in the office across the hall, comes forward with an odd story.  Ms. Flores states that she is Mr. McBride’s fiancé, but lately things in their relationship had begun to sour.  She produces a thumb drive she says Mr. McBride gave her earlier that day.  She tells you Mr. McBride told her to “keep it safe” and asked her to bring it home with her at the end of the day.  Ms. Flores tells you she really likes her job and has no interest in being wrapped up in whatever Mr. McBride has done to invite negative attention.

1. The laboratory has asked you to write a short summary of what information to look for on the submitted thumb drive. Identify for the lab what digital evidence you would like them to look for and explain why that evidence would be important to the case.
2. Because you are the most familiar with the investigation, Mr. Jenkins is asking you to brain storm all the locations outside of Mr. McBride’s immediate workspace where pertinent digital evidence might be found to help with your intellectual property theft case. Identify all of these location, including places where police would have to be involved to search. Identify what places are eligible for company search and which ones would require police involvement. Support your inclusion of each location with a short description of what type of evidence might be found there.

Now, please assume a different character for the purpose of this next segment of the assessment… You are a forensic examiner at the above mentioned Greenwood Company lab.  After receiving the package from the InfoSec Specialist in the field, you sign the chain of custody form and get set to begin your examination.

1. After taking the thumb drive out of storage, you, as the digital forensics analyst, sit down to examine the data. (Presume all personal protective equipment is already in place.) Prior to looking through the data contained on the device, you have to make a forensic image. Document what step you take prior to making the image and why this step is important to your overall case. Explain your actions and their reasoning thoroughly.
2. Write a response to the following email that you have received:

To: You, Greenwood Company Digital Forensics Examiner

From: H. Jenkins, HR Management

This case has made Greenwood Company upper management recognize the importance of forensic readiness. They have asked that you to nominate three (3) forensic examination/analysis (software) tools for them to keep in their budget for the following year. They also state that they want to make sure that the tools nominated are ones that would meet criminal justice-level standards and evidentiary requirements under the Daubert Standard. In your response, please list the tool name, manufacturer, the capabilities of the tool, and how the three tools meet the standards of Daubert. (Management specifically wants tools that can examine/analyze the digital data inside the devices and is not interested in your input on additional tools that write protect or image devices at this time.)

Fortunately, the InfoSec Specialist was on his/her game, and ALSO sent you copies of several files, reported to be the source code of “Product X”.

1. You, as the digital forensics examiner, used hash values to help you locate the source code on the thumb drive. Using verbiage that would be appropriate to communicate to a judge and jury that may not understand computer technology at all, detail the following:

• What is a hash value?
• How did you use it in this case to determine that Mr. McBride’s thumb drive contains copies of the source code?
• Explain an additional use of hash values in the context of digital forensics.

You complete your laboratory examination and return the evidence, with your report, back to the InfoSec Specialist at the field office.

Now, back at the field office, the InfoSec Specialist (a.k.a., you) receives the report from the Greenwood Lab, which shows that the complete “Product X” source code was found on Mr. McBride’s thumb drive.  In addition, while the evidence was at the lab for examination, you determined it is also likely that Mr. McBride emailed copies of the source code to his personal email address.

1. Do you recommend reporting the crime to law enforcement? Why or why not? Are private companies required to report crimes to law enforcement?

The decision is ultimately made to report the theft to law enforcement and, using primarily the evidence you developed during your investigation, Mr. McBride is brought to trial for the crime.  You (as the forensic examiner from the Greenwood Lab) are qualified as an expert witness and called to testify.

1. What is the significance of you being qualified as an expert witness? How is it different from being a simple fact witness? Explain thoroughly.
2. The prosecutor in this case calls you and brings up the fact that you write a personal blog about digital forensics in your off-time, from which it appears you are a staunch supporter of law enforcement. She is concerned that it will look like you are biased in support of law enforcement and that you only had your company’s bottom line in mind. She asks you to prepare for trial by practicing answering the following questions- respond to the prosecutor by typing up a transcript for your response.

“How do we know you are not biased in this case, choosing to report only what would help law enforcement and your company’s bottom-line? How can I know from your work that your analysis should be accepted?”

Project Requirements:

• Each questions should be answered with a minimum of 1-2 paragraphs, so do your research, be specific, be detailed, and demonstrate your knowledge; submit your project to the assignments folder.
• Answers to the above questions should be submitted in a single document (.DOC/.DOCX, .RTF, or .PDF), with answers separated so as to make it clear which question is being answered;
• The submission should have a cover page, including course number, course title, title of paper, student’s name, date of submission;
• Format: 12-point font, double-space, one-inch margins;
• It is mandatory that you do some research and utilize at least 3 outside resources!  References page: APA citation style (see HYPERLINK “https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/” https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/ for help).