Certified Digital Forensics Examiner (CDFE) Training — Lesson 2: Acquisition, Imaging, Hashing, Live Response, and Data Recovery

Learning Objectives

• Interpret the principles, requirements, roles, and dependencies shaping acquisition, imaging, hashing, live response, and data recovery.
• Apply the workflow and produce forensic acquisition and integrity log that another practitioner can review.
• Analyze “a live collection changes timestamps needed for analysis” and recommend a proportionate, supported response.

Detailed Topics

• forensic acquisition
• disk imaging
• hash verification
• live response
• volatile data
• deleted-data recovery
• write protection
• acquisition validation
• Competence, communication, governance, documented information, risk, validation, and follow-up considerations

Instructor Demonstration

The instructor demonstrates the acquisition, imaging, hashing, live response, and data recovery workflow, identifies the applicable inputs and responsibilities, records checkpoints in forensic acquisition and integrity log, and contrasts the accepted state with a condition where a live collection changes timestamps needed for analysis.

Hands-On Exercise

Complete a controlled implementation, audit, assessment, or foundation exercise for Acquisition, Imaging, Hashing, Live Response, and Data Recovery. Establish scope and criteria, collect or create evidence, examine “a live collection changes timestamps needed for analysis,” reach a supported conclusion, and preserve the result in forensic acquisition and integrity log.

1. Confirm objectives, scope, roles, criteria, stakeholders, and expected outputs.
2. Perform the planned activities while recording assumptions, evidence, and decisions.
3. Test a normal case, an exception, and a follow-up or improvement condition.
4. Document conclusions, owners, due dates, escalation, and verification requirements.

Scenario Analysis

• Identify the requirement or principle with the strongest influence on acquisition, imaging, hashing, live response, and data recovery.
• Compare two defensible responses and explain their governance, risk, and evidence trade-offs.
• Determine how forensic acquisition and integrity log should be approved, retained, reviewed, and updated.

Troubleshooting Guidance

Separate missing evidence from ineffective practice, and distinguish a documentation issue from a control, process, governance, or competence failure. Use forensic acquisition and integrity log to trace the earliest divergence. Treat “a live collection changes timestamps needed for analysis” as a hypothesis until the response is validated against the applicable requirement and intended outcome.

Validation Checklist

• The scope, criteria, stakeholders, and intended outcome for acquisition, imaging, hashing, live response, and data recovery are explicit.
• The forensic acquisition and integrity log links statements and decisions to objective, reviewable support.
• Responsibilities, competence, communication, risk, legal duties, and change impact were considered where relevant.
• Findings, corrective actions, monitoring, review triggers, and improvement ownership are clear.

Lesson Outcome

Learners can apply Acquisition, Imaging, Hashing, Live Response, and Data Recovery, explain the reasoning used, and defend the result through forensic acquisition and integrity log.