Computer Forensics Certification

In order to become a professional computer forensics expert you need to first get a computer forensics certification. This is because the law requires that one must be a certified and recognized expert in order to have their forensic findings accepted during legal proceedings. In order to pass the certification requirements, you have to make sure that you have all the necessary knowledge and skills. These skills and knowledge can be acquired through training.

You can get training from schools who offer special courses that cover all aspects of a computer forensic expert. The curriculum is a very well rounded one that covers not only all the technical aspects of computer forensics, but also the non technical side as well. This is because the job not all about tinkering with various electronic and digital devices, it is also about working with other law enforcement personnel and properly processing evidence in order to be viable for use in legal proceedings.

The technical aspect of training focuses on how to locate, identify and extract data from a variety of digital devices and sources. The aspiring computer forensic expert is taught a variety of methods and skills that he could use to extract data from all forms of electronic sources. They can be able to extract data for evidence even from encrypted sources, supposedly deleted files and even on intentionally damaged hard drives. These technical skills are balanced with training on the proper protocol of working with other law enforcement officers in securing and processing a crime scene, properly processing evidence, the ethical aspect of forensics, as well as all the laws that pertain to the job of a computer forensics expert. Processing the evidences should be done exactly by the book as the courts are very strict regarding this particular protocol. Even the smallest deviation from proper protocol can compromise the viability of evidence to be accepted at court.

Once completing your degree, you can get certification from a variety of international certifying bodies. You can become one of the GCFA certified individuals certified by the Global Information Assurance Certification organization. GCFA means GIAC Certified Forensic Analyst. This is one of the most coveted certifications in the computer forensics field as there are only currently 2100 GCFA individuals in the world. There are also other certifying organizations. In order to get the right one, you should first research on which certifications are accepted and accredited by your government.

Not all computer forensics certification are equal. It is very important to only get the ones that are certified by the justice department of the government you plan to work in. No matter how prestigious a certifying body may be, if they are not accredited by the government, your certification from that body may not be accepted.