Digital Forensics Lab Design: A framework

Internet connectivity and digital technologies have experienced exponential growth in the past few years. This explosion has spurred a significant increase in crime while also creating a new definition of cybercriminals. Digital Forensics plays an important role in crime reconstruction and thus the need for skilled forensics experts has multiplied. As a result, digital forensics education and training has also experienced radical growth. Teaching digital forensics has always been a challenge as the creation of suitable hands-on digital forensics labs has always been the core of these training programs. There are several challenges faced by both the educators and the students when it comes to the creation and implementation of digital forensics labs. This paper aims to address some of these issues by providing a framework that can be used by educators to establish educational hands-on labs for digital forensics. Firstly, we identify all the challenges faced by digital examiners, educators, and training professionals to deliver high-quality forensic labs. Secondly, we identify specific common technical pitfalls that professionals run into when designing digital forensics labs such as the creation of large image files. We thus, offer tips and tricks to make the process of creating digital forensic labs easier. Finally, we also provide a data set of small-sized image files that can be used by educators for the creation of a digital forensic lab infrastructure.