Certified Hacking Forensic Investigator The Ultimate Step By Step Guide

You're under pressure right now. The threats are evolving faster than ever. Cyberattacks aren't just breaking through firewalls-they're hiding in plain sight, leaving delicate traces that only highly trained investigators can uncover. If you're not equipped with the exact forensic methodology to trace, analyse, and document digital intrusions, you're not just behind. You're exposed.

Organisations need more than IT staff-they need forensic specialists who can move like detectives in the digital shadows. They need people who can turn chaos into court-admissible reports, who can reconstruct attacks with precision, and who have the proven skills to stand by their findings. This is where Certified Hacking Forensic Investigator The Ultimate Step By Step Guide changes everything.

This is your transformation from reactive responder to certified digital investigator-someone who doesn’t just respond to breaches, but anticipates them, tracks them, and dismantles them with irrefutable technical clarity. In as little as 45 days, you'll go from uncertainty to mastery, with a complete, board-ready capability to conduct end-to-end forensic investigations, backed by a globally recognised Certificate of Completion from The Art of Service.

One recent learner, a mid-level security analyst in a financial services firm, used this course to lead his team’s response to a ransomware event within weeks of starting. He isolated the initial access vector, traced lateral movement across five systems, and compiled a forensic report used by legal counsel. His department now mandates this course for all incident response staff.

You don’t need to be a coder or a hacker to succeed. You need a system. A repeatable, proven, and legally sound process. This course delivers that-no guesswork, no filler, just mission-critical knowledge structured for real-world execution.

Here’s how this course is structured to help you get there.

Course Format & Delivery Details

Learn On Your Terms-No Deadlines, No Pressure

This course is self-paced, with immediate online access the moment you enrol. There are no fixed dates, no mandatory live sessions, and no time-bound modules. Whether you have 30 minutes a day or a full weekend to dedicate, the structure adapts to your life and work schedule.

Most learners complete the core material in 6 to 8 weeks while working full-time. Many apply key techniques within the first week, especially in areas like evidence acquisition, log analysis, and malware behaviour assessment.

Lifetime Access, Zero Obsolescence

You receive lifetime access to all course content. This means unlimited revisits, anytime, anywhere. More importantly, you get all future updates at no additional cost. As forensic tools, attack patterns, and legal standards evolve, your training evolves with them-automatically.

The platform is mobile-friendly and fully optimised for 24/7 access across devices. Review forensic checklists on your phone during a coffee break. Study timeline reconstruction techniques from your tablet while travelling. Your progress syncs seamlessly.

Instructor Support & Guided Clarity

Each module includes direct access to expert guidance. You’re not left to figure things out alone. Ask specific questions, get detailed responses, and receive clarification tailored to your background-whether you're in corporate security, law enforcement, or consulting.

Support is delivered through structured feedback loops, peer-reviewed templates, and expert-reviewed investigation frameworks. This isn’t automated chat. It’s human, precise, and designed to accelerate your competence.

Certificate of Completion from The Art of Service

Upon finishing the course, you earn a Certificate of Completion issued by The Art of Service-a globally recognised authority in professional cyber training. This certificate is not a participation badge. It verifies mastery of a rigorous, industry-aligned forensic methodology and is respected by employers, auditors, and regulatory bodies alike.

Include it in your LinkedIn profile, resume, or compliance documentation. It signals that you operate with structured, defensible, and repeatable investigative discipline.

Transparent, One-Time Pricing-No Hidden Fees

The price you see is the price you pay. There are no recurring charges, no upgrade traps, and no surprise costs. Everything you need to become a capable, confident investigator is included upfront-no paywalls, no premium tiers.

• Accepted payment methods: Visa, Mastercard, PayPal

Your financial risk is completely eliminated. We offer a 100% money-back guarantee if, after reviewing the first two modules, you determine the course isn’t delivering the clarity and technical depth you need. No questions, no forms, no hassle-just a full refund if it's not right for you.

This Works Even If…

…you’ve never conducted a forensic investigation before. …your background is in IT, not law enforcement. …you're transitioning from general cybersecurity into forensics. …you’re overwhelmed by the technical jargon used in incident reports.

This course was built for professionals exactly like you-people who understand technology but need the forensic structure, documentation standards, and procedural confidence to operate with authority.

We’ve had network engineers, SOC analysts, and compliance officers all succeed-even when they started with zero forensic experience. Why? Because the course replaces confusion with checklist-driven workflow, replaces doubt with verifiable process, and replaces isolation with expert support.

After you enrol, you’ll receive a confirmation email. Your course access details will be sent separately once your enrolment is fully processed and your learning environment is activated-ensuring a smooth, secure setup experience.

This isn’t just training. It’s protection. Clarity. Career momentum. And if it doesn’t meet your expectations, you’re protected with a full refund. There is no risk-only progression.

Module 1: Foundations of Digital Forensics

• Defining digital forensics in modern cybersecurity
• Core principles: Integrity, authenticity, admissibility
• The role of the forensic investigator in incident response
• Differences between forensic and diagnostic investigations
• Understanding digital evidence life cycle
• Legal and ethical responsibilities of investigators
• Types of digital evidence: Persistent, volatile, transient
• Introduction to chain of custody protocols
• Overview of regulatory frameworks: GDPR, HIPAA, PCI-DSS
• Building a forensic mindset: Observation, documentation, inference

Module 2: Investigative Frameworks and Methodologies

• The Integrated Digital Investigation Process (IDIP)
• Using the Extended Forensic Investigation Model (EFI)
• Incident classification and response triage
• Mapping investigation stages: Preparation, identification, preservation
• Developing investigation hypotheses
• Creating a forensic investigation plan
• Case scoping: Defining objectives and boundaries
• Resource allocation: Tools, time, team roles
• Creating repeatability with standard operating procedures
• Aligning forensic activity with business impact analysis

Module 3: Evidence Collection and Preservation

• On-site vs remote evidence acquisition strategies
• Hardware requirements for forensic workstations
• Write-blockers: Types, use cases, and selection criteria
• Imaging hard drives: Bit-by-bit vs logical copies
• Forensic media duplication tools and techniques
• RAM capture and live memory analysis fundamentals
• Acquiring volatile data without contamination
• Network log collection: NetFlow, PCAP, and firewall logs
• Cloud evidence acquisition: API-based data pulls
• Mobile device physical and logical extraction
• Preserving metadata and timestamps accurately
• Storage media write protection procedures
• Secure transport and storage of evidence drives
• Creating baseline integrity hashes (SHA-256, MD5)
• Digital evidence packaging and sealing techniques

Module 4: Chain of Custody and Legal Compliance

• Designing a court-admissible chain of custody form
• Handling evidence transfers between teams
• Timestamping every action with audit trails
• Witness verification and sign-off procedures
• Digital chain of custody using blockchain-based logging
• Inter-agency cooperation and data sharing protocols
• Legal hold procedures and preservation notices
• Responding to subpoenas with forensic readiness
• Differentiating private vs law enforcement investigations
• Understanding jurisdictional boundaries in cyber cases
• Data sovereignty and cross-border evidence rules
• Documenting investigator credentials and qualifications
• Creating defensible audit logs for legal review
• Handling evidence during internal corporate investigations
• Compliance with eDiscovery standards (FRCP, ISO 27037)

Module 5: Operating System Forensics – Windows

• Windows file system structure: MFT, USN Journal, TxF
• Analysing NTFS Alternate Data Streams (ADS)
• Recovering deleted files using forensic tools
• Windows event log analysis: Security, System, Application
• Identifying logon sessions and authentication attempts
• Tracking user activity through prefetch and shimcache
• Registry forensics: SAM, SOFTWARE, SECURITY hives
• Extracting USB device connection history
• Analysing RecentFiles, Jump Lists, and LNK files
• Windows Scheduled Tasks and service investigations
• Identifying persistence mechanisms and autoruns
• Examining Windows event forwarding configurations
• Assessing PowerShell and WMI execution traces
• User profile analysis and artefact extraction
• Detecting file timestamp manipulation (timestomping)

Module 6: Operating System Forensics – Linux and Unix

• Linux filesystem structures: ext4, XFS, Btrfs
• Analysing inodes and superblocks for file recovery
• Reviewing shell history files (.bash_history, zshrc)
• Examining system logs: /var/log/auth.log, syslog
• Analysing cron jobs and systemd services for persistence
• Identifying user login activity with last, wtmp, utmp
• Reviewing sudo usage and privilege escalation logs
• Analysing SSH authentication records and key exchanges
• Checking for unauthorised cron and at jobs
• Reviewing configuration files for backdoor modifications
• Analysing process lists and service autostart scripts
• Detecting rootkits with chkrootkit and rkhunter
• Reconstructing user sessions from shell histories
• Analysing system boot and shutdown logs
• Reviewing firewall and network service configurations

Module 7: Network Forensics and Traffic Analysis

• Understanding network protocols: TCP/IP, UDP, ICMP
• Collecting and parsing packet capture (PCAP) files
• Identifying command and control (C2) communication patterns
• Detecting DNS tunneling and data exfiltration
• Analysing NetFlow and sFlow data for anomalies
• Mapping attacker lateral movement via network logs
• Decrypting SSL/TLS traffic in forensic investigations
• Using Wireshark display filters for targeted analysis
• Identifying beaconing behaviour in network streams
• Reconstructing HTTP and HTTPS sessions
• Analysing SMTP traffic for phishing or data leaks
• Detecting port scanning and brute force attempts
• Mapping internal network topology from logs
• Using network timelines to correlate events
• Identifying rogue devices using MAC address analysis

Module 8: Malware Analysis and Behavioural Detection

• Difference between static and dynamic malware analysis
• Sandboxing malware in isolated forensic environments
• Static analysis: Strings, imports, headers, entropy
• Identifying packing and obfuscation techniques
• Analysing API calls for malicious intent
• Monitoring file system, registry, and process changes
• Detecting process injection and DLL sideloading
• Analysing memory dumps for active malware
• Identifying droppers, loaders, and payloads
• Reverse engineering basic malware logic
• Behaviour-based detection using YARA rules
• Determining malware communication protocols
• Mapping malware persistence mechanisms
• Creating malware signatures and IOC lists
• Differentiating ransomware, spyware, and rootkits

Module 9: Memory Forensics Fundamentals

• Importance of RAM in incident investigations
• Tools for memory acquisition: FTK Imager, Belkasoft
• Analysing memory dumps with Volatility Framework
• Identifying running processes and hidden malware
• Extracting network connections from memory
• Recovering encryption keys and passwords
• Detecting process hollowing and injection
• Analysing browser sessions from memory
• Reconstructing clipboard content and temporary data
• Identifying shellcode and reflective DLL loading
• Finding artefacts of credential dumping tools
• Mapping kernel vs user space memory sections
• Analysing kernel modules and rootkit detection
• Correlating memory findings with disk evidence
• Creating memory analysis report templates

Module 10: Email and Web Forensics

• Analysing email headers for spoofing and forgery
• Tracking phishing email delivery paths
• Extracting embedded malware from email attachments
• Investigating web-based email compromises (O365, Gmail)
• Analysing browser cache and history for user activity
• Recovering deleted cookies and form data
• Tracking web application attacks: XSS, CSRF, SQLi
• Reconstructing browsing sessions from SQLite databases
• Identifying malicious browser extensions
• Analysing web server logs for attack patterns
• Extracting flash and Java applet activity
• Detecting session hijacking and token theft
• Tracking file downloads from web sources
• Using web timelines to correlate user actions
• Determining web-based lateral movement

Module 11: Mobile Device Forensics

• Differences between iOS and Android forensic approaches
• Logical vs physical extraction methods
• Using forensic tools: Cellebrite, Magnet AXIOM, Belkasoft
• Analysing call logs, SMS, and encrypted messaging apps
• Extracting location data from geotags and cell towers
• Recovering deleted messages and media files
• Analysing app usage history and permissions
• Identifying jailbreak or root indicators
• Extracting cloud-synced data from mobile backups
• Detecting spyware and stalkerware apps
• Analysing Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connection history
• Mapping user movement via GPS timeline
• Reviewing app-specific data: WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram
• Preserving mobile evidence during seizure
• Creating mobile forensic reporting standards

Module 12: Cloud Forensics and SaaS Investigations

• Challenges of forensic investigation in cloud environments
• Shared responsibility model in AWS, Azure, GCP
• Collecting logs from cloud providers (CloudTrail, Audit Logs)
• Analysing IAM role changes and privilege escalation
• Reconstructing user activities in cloud consoles
• Investigating S3 bucket access and policy changes
• Extracting logs from cloud-native applications
• Forensic timelines in multi-region deployments
• Using APIs for automated evidence collection
• Analysing container and Kubernetes activity logs
• Identifying unauthorised access in cloud directories
• Differentiating between admin and service accounts
• Securing forensic access keys and roles
• Handling multi-tenant SaaS platform investigations
• Compliance with cloud provider data access policies

Module 13: Timeline Analysis and Correlation

• Importance of timeline-based investigation
• Building a master event timeline from multiple sources
• Converting timestamps to consistent time zones
• Merging logs from endpoints, networks, and clouds
• Using Plaso and log2timeline for automation
• Identifying anomalies in temporal patterns
• Spotting gaps in logging and potential tampering
• Correlating logon events with network sessions
• Detecting out-of-sequence or impossible event chains
• Creating visual timeline reports with filtering
• Identifying initial access windows and dwell time
• Mapping execution sequences across systems
• Using timelines to prove or disprove alibis
• Integrating user activity with system events
• Reporting critical timeline findings to non-technical stakeholders

Module 14: Forensic Tools and Software Mastery

• Selecting the right tool for each investigation phase
• FTK Imager: Disk imaging and previewing
• Autopsy: Open-source forensic case management
• Magnet AXIOM: All-in-one forensic analysis
• Volatility: Advanced memory forensics
• Wireshark: Deep packet inspection
• LogParser: Querying heterogeneous log types
• Hashing tools: FCIV, md5deep, ssdeep
• Registry analysis with Registry Explorer
• SQLite database recovery and analysis
• YARA rule creation and deployment
• Using grep, awk, sed for log filtering
• Automating tasks with Python scripting
• Building custom forensic toolkits
• Validating tool output for court admissibility

Module 15: Reporting and Documentation Standards

• Structure of a professional forensic report
• Executive summary for non-technical readers
• Technical findings section with screenshots
• Creating annotated evidence exhibits
• Writing conclusions based on findings
• Including limitations and assumptions
• Using standardised terminology and definitions
• Referencing forensic methodologies used
• Avoiding speculation and maintaining objectivity
• Formatting reports for legal teams and executives
• Version control and report approval workflow
• Secure report delivery and signing procedures
• Creating templates for repeatable investigations
• Preparing reports for deposition or testimony
• Redacting sensitive or personal information

Module 16: Expert Testimony and Legal Readiness

• Preparing to testify as a forensic expert
• Understanding Daubert and Frye standards
• Qualifying your methodology for admissibility
• Anticipating cross-examination questions
• Communicating technical details clearly
• Using visual aids and timelines in court
• Handling requests for tool validation
• Responding to challenges about data integrity
• Establishing personal qualifications and experience
• Differentiating between opinion and fact
• Maintaining professional demeanor under pressure
• Reviewing opposing expert reports
• Consulting with legal teams before testimony
• Documenting your analysis for scrutiny
• Using deposition to refine your position

Module 17: Incident Response Integration

• Embedding forensics into incident response plans
• Defining forensic triggers in IR playbooks
• Integrating with SIEM and SOAR platforms
• Automating evidence collection on detection
• Establishing forensic response teams (FRT)
• Conducting tabletop exercises with forensic focus
• Reducing time-to-evidence in breach scenarios
• Building forensic runbooks for common attack types
• Coordinating with legal, PR, and HR teams
• Creating forensic escalation paths
• Integrating with EDR and XDR solutions
• Defining forensic data retention policies
• Training SOC analysts in basic evidence handling
• Measuring forensic maturity with NIST framework
• Conducting post-incident forensic reviews

Module 18: Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) Investigations

• Characteristics of APT actors and campaigns
• Identifying stealthy persistence mechanisms
• Uncovering living-off-the-land techniques (LOLbins)
• Analysing stealthy C2 protocols (DNS, HTTPS, ICMP)
• Detecting credential theft and pass-the-hash attacks
• Mapping lateral movement through Active Directory
• Identifying privilege escalation pathways
• Reconstructing long-term dwell periods
• Analysing custom malware and backdoors
• Tracking data staging and exfiltration patterns
• Using threat intelligence to identify attacker TTPs
• Correlating indicators across multiple breaches
• Building attacker attribution hypotheses
• Reporting findings to CISO and board level
• Developing containment and eradication strategies

Module 19: Real-World Investigations and Capstone Cases

• Simulated ransomware attack investigation
• Insider threat detection using forensic analysis
• Phishing campaign tracing and impact assessment
• Cloud misconfiguration breach reconstruction
• Third-party compromise via supply chain attack
• Web application SQL injection forensic analysis
• Mobile device breach investigation
• Network-based data exfiltration case study
• Detecting zero-day exploitation traces
• Forensic analysis of a disabled audit policy
• Reconstructing a multi-system lateral movement attack
• Creating a full investigation package from raw data
• Presenting findings to executive stakeholders
• Responding to peer review of your report
• Final assessment: From evidence to courtroom-ready deliverable

Module 20: Certification, Career Advancement, and Ongoing Growth

• Preparing for your Certificate of Completion assessment
• Reviewing key forensic concepts and checklists
• Completing the final certification project
• Submitting your investigation report for evaluation
• Receiving your Certificate of Completion from The Art of Service
• Adding certification to your professional profiles
• Leveraging the credential in job applications and promotions
• Networking with other certified forensic professionals
• Accessing exclusive alumni resources and job boards
• Continuing education pathways in digital forensics
• Staying updated with emerging forensic challenges
• Contributing to open forensic research and tools
• Becoming a mentor to new investigators
• Transitioning into roles: Forensic Analyst, Incident Responder, Consultant
• Building a portfolio of investigation case summaries