Book Review

Cohen, F. (2008). Challenges to Digital Forensic Evidence. Livermore, CA: Fred Cohen & Associates. 129 pages, ISBN: 1-878109-41-3, US$39

Reviewed by Gary C. Kessler
Champlain College
Burlington, VT 05401
gary.kessler@champlain.edu
 

(first two paragraphs of review)

This book is about evidence gleaned as the result of the digital forensics process and providing expert testimony about that evidence. I am always suspicious when someone self-proclaims themselves as an "expert" although all authors are doing just that, at least by inference. Readers who are familiar with the author, Fred Cohen, or his large body of published works will know that he neither proclaims his expertise quietly nor inaccurately. Indeed, Cohen is an ideal person to weigh in on the topic of suitability and malleability of information acquired from computers and about providing testimony about that information and the process with which it was found.

Cohen's relatively short, self-published monograph is a very personal text that clearly draws on his years of experience. Written in the first person and largely devoid of external references (except for the occasional legal citation), you can practically hear Cohen speaking to you as you read the book; while reading it, I felt like I was back in a classroom. The book has six chapters, each of which ends with a set of questions, most of which I found to be interesting, pertinent, and thought-provoking, further adding to the feeling of being back in a seminar course.
 

(continued)