In Step 1 you recall your training in criminal investigations, in which you covered the laws governing chain of custody, search warrants, subpoenas, jurisdiction,and the plain view doctrine. You also review forensic laws and regulations that relate to cybercrime, as well as  rules of digital forensics in preparation for your digital forensic investigation. Next, you read the police report and perform a quick inventory of devices that are thought to contain evidence of the crime. You have set up a meeting with the lead detectives and the prosecutor handling the case. You have received an official request for assistance which provides you with authority to conduct the investigation. You realize it will be impossible to produce a detailed investigation project plan prior to your meeting with the detectives and the prosecutor. First you need to develop a series of questions to establish the key people and activities. These questions should address potential criminal activity, timelines, and people who need to be investigated. It is also important to determine whether different aspects of the case are being pursued by other investigators and to include those investigators on your contact list. In addition, some situations may involve organizations or individuals who need to adhere to various types of industry compliance. This situation may require you to follow special procedures. Your tasks in Step 1 are to create an interview form to record questions, keywords, and authorization information, and to designate the legal forms that will be needed in this case. The forms that you complete as part of Step 1 will be included in your “Investigation Project Plan”-- the final assignment for this project.  n Step 1 you developed the forms and templates needed to collect the legal, criminal, and technical information that lays the groundwork for your investigation. In Step 2, you consider the types of resources needed to conduct the investigation. By making these preparations, you are establishing forensic readiness.  Required resources can include people; tools and technologies such as  RAID disks, deployment kits, or imaging programs; and budget and timeline information. Develop your checklist. It will be included in your final "Investigation Project Plan." In Step 3 you will prepare a plan for managing a digital forensic investigation.  n the prior step, you determined what resources would be necessary for your investigation. In Step 3 you develop a plan for managing the investigation. Reporting requirementsreflect the step-by-step rigidity of the criminal investigation process itself. Being able to articulate time, task, money, and personnel requirements is essential. Project management is a skill set that is not often linked to digital forensics and criminal investigations. That is unfortunate because effective project management can have a dramatic impact on the success and accuracy of an investigation. Identifying the tasks that need to be p ...

1. In Step 1 you recall your training in criminal investigations, in
which you covered the laws governing chain of custody, search
warrants, subpoenas, jurisdiction,and the plain view doctrine.
You also review forensic laws and regulations that relate to
cybercrime, as well as rules of digital forensics in preparation
for your digital forensic investigation. Next, you read the police
report and perform a quick inventory of devices that are thought
to contain evidence of the crime. You have set up a meeting
with the lead detectives and the prosecutor handling the case.
You have received an official request for assistance which
provides you with authority to conduct the investigation. You
realize it will be impossible to produce a detailed investigation
project plan prior to your meeting with the detectives and the
prosecutor. First you need to develop a series of questions to
establish the key people and activities. These questions should
address potential criminal activity, timelines, and people who
need to be investigated.
It is also important to determine whether different aspects of the
case are being pursued by other investigators and to include
those investigators on your contact list. In addition, some
situations may involve organizations or individuals who need to
adhere to various types of industry compliance. This situation
may require you to follow special procedures.
Your tasks in Step 1 are to create an interview form to record
questions, keywords, and authorization information, and to
designate the legal forms that will be needed in this case. The
forms that you complete as part of Step 1 will be included in
your “Investigation Project Plan”-- the final assignment for this
project.

2. n Step 1 you developed the forms and templates needed to
collect the legal, criminal, and technical information that lays
the groundwork for your investigation. In Step 2, you consider
the types of resources needed to conduct the investigation. By
making these preparations, you are establishing forensic
readiness. Required resources can include people; tools and
technologies such as RAID disks, deployment kits, or imaging
programs; and budget and timeline information. Develop your
checklist. It will be included in your final "Investigation Project
Plan." In Step 3 you will prepare a plan for managing a digital
forensic investigation.
n the prior step, you determined what resources would be
necessary for your investigation. In Step 3 you develop a plan
for managing the investigation. Reporting requirementsreflect
the step-by-step rigidity of the criminal investigation process
itself. Being able to articulate time, task, money, and personnel
requirements is essential.
Project management is a skill set that is not often linked to
digital forensics and criminal investigations. That is unfortunate
because effective project management can have a dramatic
impact on the success and accuracy of an investigation.
Identifying the tasks that need to be performed, their sequence,
and their duration are important considerations, especially in
the face of "wild cards" such as delays in obtaining correct
search warrants and subpoenas. It is also important to have a
clear understanding of the goals for the investigation as you
will likely be called upon to present conclusions and opinions
of your findings.
Your project plan should include properly sequenced evidence
acquisition and investigation processes, time estimates, and
contingency plans. Your plan will serve many purposes

3. including the assignment of a project budget. As you create
your plan, be sure to include communications and reporting—
who should be involved, how the activities should be carried
out, how often, and under what circumstances (i.e., modality,
frequency).
Once you have developed your project management plan, move
on to Step 4 where you will submit your final assignment.
For your final assignment, you will combine the results of the
previous three steps into a single planning document—an
"Investigation Project Plan"—with a title page, a table of
contents, and a distinct section for each of the three steps. The
Plan should include:
Forms documenting key people, key activities, timeline,
keywords, authorization (ownership, jurisdiction), and related
investigations. Designation of the Llegal forms required for
criminal investigations should also be included. (Step 1)
Resource list (Step 2)
Management plan (Step 3)
All sources of information must be appropriately referenced.
Submit your completed "Investigation Project Plan" to your
supervisor (your instructor) for evaluation upon completion.
Before you submit your assignment, review the competencies
below, which your instructor will use to evaluate your work. A
good practice would be to use each competency as a self-check
to confirm you have incorporated all of them in your work.

4. 1.1: Organize document or presentation clearly in a manner that
promotes understanding and meets the requirements of the
assignment.
2.2: Locate and access sufficient information to investigate the
issue or problem.
4.1: Lead and/or participate in a diverse group to accomplish
projects and assignments.
10.1: Demonstrate best practices in organizing a digital forensic
investigation.
10.2: Utilize Project Management principles in an investigation.