Mark Crosbie’s research while affiliated with IBM and other places

The goal of this chapter is to explain the challenges that the forensic investigator faces when investigating Cloud Crime and how they can learn from the techniques used by Ethical Hackers to improve their investigation technique. The security threat posed by hackers on the Internet is constantly evolving. Cloud computing provides new avenues for hackers to exploit organizations, giving rise to new classes of vulnerability, and new security challenges. The forensic investigator must learn to “think like a hacker” so that they can reconstruct the path the hacker takes through the cloud environment. This chapter will explain how an Ethical Hacker works, how the Ethical Hacker views the Cloud, and in doing so illustrate the new challenges facing a forensic investigator.

The goal of this chapter is to explain the challenges that the forensic investigator faces when investigating Cloud Crime and how they can learn from the techniques used by Ethical Hackers to improve their investigation technique. The security threat posed by hackers on the Internet is constantly evolving. Cloud computing provides new avenues for hackers to exploit organizations, giving rise to new classes of vulnerability, and new security challenges. The forensic investigator must learn to “think like a hacker” so that they can reconstruct the path the hacker takes through the cloud environment. This chapter will explain how an Ethical Hacker works, how the Ethical Hacker views the Cloud, and in doing so illustrate the new challenges facing a forensic investigator.

Cloud computing is estimated to be one of the most transformative technologies in the history of computing. Cloud organizations, including the providers and customers of cloud services, have yet to establish a well-defined forensic capability. Without this they are unable to ensure the robustness and suitability of their services to support investigations of criminal activity. In this paper, we take the first steps towards defining the new area of cloud forensics, and analyze its challenges and opportunities.

Cloud computing may well become one of the most transformative technologies in the history of computing. Cloud service providers and customers have yet to establish adequate forensic capabilities that could support investigations of criminal activities in the cloud. This paper discusses the emerging area of cloud forensics, and highlights its challenges and opportunities.