Digital Forensics Investigative Action
Plan
Introduction
As businesses and organizations increasingly rely on electronic storage and
communication, digital forensics plays a vital role in identifying, preserving,
and analyzing evidence related to suspected violations of company policies
and laws. This investigative action plan outlines the procedures and best
practices the investigative team will follow to analyze digital evidence
related to the alleged unauthorized access and removal of proprietary
information by the employee John Smith.
The goal of this plan is to ensure that evidence is collected, preserved,
analyzed, and reported in a manner that is forensically sound, legally
defensible, and minimally disruptive to normal business operations.
A1. Strategy to Maximize Evidence Collection and
Minimize Organizational Impact
The investigative team will be implementing a targeted and phased
collection strategy designed to preserve all potentially relevant evidence
while minimizing disruption to the organization. Each action taken during
this phase is intentionally aligned with either maximizing evidence
collection or minimizing organizational impact, as described below.
Coordination with legal, HR, and IT maximizes evidence collection by
ensuring all the relevant systems, devices, and data sources
associated with the subject employee are properly identified before
collection begins. At the same time, it minimizes the organizational
impact by preventing unnecessary or overly broad data collection
from unrelated systems or employees.
Prioritizing volatile data collection (such as RAM, active processes,
and network connections) maximizes evidence collection by
preserving information that would otherwise be lost if systems are
powered down or altered. Collecting this data early reduces the need
This study source was downloaded by 100000900412927 from CourseHero.com on 01-28-2026 14:43:21 GMT -06:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/253818266/Task-1docx/
, for repeated system access, which helps minimize disruption to
operations.
Performing evidence collection during after-hours or low-usage
periods minimizes organizational impact by reducing interference
with business-critical systems and employee productivity, while still
allowing the team to fully capture relevant data without time
pressure.
Using forensic imaging rather than live analysis maximizes evidence
collection by capturing a complete and exact copy of storage media,
including deleted and hidden data. This approach also minimizes
organizational impact because systems can be returned to service
quickly after imaging, rather than being tied up for extended analysis.
Listing the scope of collection to systems reasonably related to the
suspected violation minimizes organizational impact by respecting
employee privacy and reducing data handling overhead, while still
maximizing evidentiary value by focusing resources on the most
relevant data sources.
This balanced strategy ensures that the investigation is thorough,
defensible, and efficient, while maintaining normal business operations and
reducing unnecessary risk to the organization.
A2. Tools and Techniques for Evidence Gathering,
Preparation, and Analysis
For this investigation, the team will use two primary forensic tools to
support evidence gathering, preparation, and analysis. Each tool was
selected because it is widely accepted in digital forensics and supports
legally defensible investigative practices.
FTK Imager will be used to collect and preserve digital evidence from
storage media associated with the subject employee. The tool will be
utilized to create forensic images of hard drives and removable media
while using write-blocking functionality to prevent any modification of
original data. FTK Imager will also be used to calculate cryptographic
hash values before and after imaging to verify the integrity of the
evidence. This ensures that the collected data is an exact and
verifiable copy of the original source.
Autopsy (The Sleuth Kit) will be used to analzye the forensic images
created during evidence collection. The investigative team will utilize
This study source was downloaded by 100000900412927 from CourseHero.com on 01-28-2026 14:43:21 GMT -06:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/253818266/Task-1docx/
Plan
Introduction
As businesses and organizations increasingly rely on electronic storage and
communication, digital forensics plays a vital role in identifying, preserving,
and analyzing evidence related to suspected violations of company policies
and laws. This investigative action plan outlines the procedures and best
practices the investigative team will follow to analyze digital evidence
related to the alleged unauthorized access and removal of proprietary
information by the employee John Smith.
The goal of this plan is to ensure that evidence is collected, preserved,
analyzed, and reported in a manner that is forensically sound, legally
defensible, and minimally disruptive to normal business operations.
A1. Strategy to Maximize Evidence Collection and
Minimize Organizational Impact
The investigative team will be implementing a targeted and phased
collection strategy designed to preserve all potentially relevant evidence
while minimizing disruption to the organization. Each action taken during
this phase is intentionally aligned with either maximizing evidence
collection or minimizing organizational impact, as described below.
Coordination with legal, HR, and IT maximizes evidence collection by
ensuring all the relevant systems, devices, and data sources
associated with the subject employee are properly identified before
collection begins. At the same time, it minimizes the organizational
impact by preventing unnecessary or overly broad data collection
from unrelated systems or employees.
Prioritizing volatile data collection (such as RAM, active processes,
and network connections) maximizes evidence collection by
preserving information that would otherwise be lost if systems are
powered down or altered. Collecting this data early reduces the need
This study source was downloaded by 100000900412927 from CourseHero.com on 01-28-2026 14:43:21 GMT -06:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/253818266/Task-1docx/
, for repeated system access, which helps minimize disruption to
operations.
Performing evidence collection during after-hours or low-usage
periods minimizes organizational impact by reducing interference
with business-critical systems and employee productivity, while still
allowing the team to fully capture relevant data without time
pressure.
Using forensic imaging rather than live analysis maximizes evidence
collection by capturing a complete and exact copy of storage media,
including deleted and hidden data. This approach also minimizes
organizational impact because systems can be returned to service
quickly after imaging, rather than being tied up for extended analysis.
Listing the scope of collection to systems reasonably related to the
suspected violation minimizes organizational impact by respecting
employee privacy and reducing data handling overhead, while still
maximizing evidentiary value by focusing resources on the most
relevant data sources.
This balanced strategy ensures that the investigation is thorough,
defensible, and efficient, while maintaining normal business operations and
reducing unnecessary risk to the organization.
A2. Tools and Techniques for Evidence Gathering,
Preparation, and Analysis
For this investigation, the team will use two primary forensic tools to
support evidence gathering, preparation, and analysis. Each tool was
selected because it is widely accepted in digital forensics and supports
legally defensible investigative practices.
FTK Imager will be used to collect and preserve digital evidence from
storage media associated with the subject employee. The tool will be
utilized to create forensic images of hard drives and removable media
while using write-blocking functionality to prevent any modification of
original data. FTK Imager will also be used to calculate cryptographic
hash values before and after imaging to verify the integrity of the
evidence. This ensures that the collected data is an exact and
verifiable copy of the original source.
Autopsy (The Sleuth Kit) will be used to analzye the forensic images
created during evidence collection. The investigative team will utilize
This study source was downloaded by 100000900412927 from CourseHero.com on 01-28-2026 14:43:21 GMT -06:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/253818266/Task-1docx/
