Disk Forensics Analysis with Practical Security Challenges

Digital evidence is the cornerstone of modern incident response and cybersecurity investigations. This text-based course introduces you to the core principles of disk forensics, showing you how to uncover hidden data and reconstruct security incidents. You will transition from a security enthusiast to a capable analyst who can systematically investigate storage media. Through written step-by-step guides and challenge-based scenarios, you will learn to decode file systems, trace user activity, and solve realistic forensic CTF (Capture the Flag) problems. What you'll learn: Understand foundational disk forensic concepts, partition tables, and file system structures including NTFS and ext4; Analyze registry hives, system logs, and modern OS artifacts to reconstruct user activity; Extract and recover deleted files, hidden data, and metadata from disk images; Solve practical forensic contest challenges by applying structured investigation techniques; Apply modern triage methodologies to quickly identify high-value evidence during an incident. The course starts with essential terminology and file system fundamentals before moving into artifact analysis and hands-on walkthroughs of forensic contest problems. You will read through detailed case studies and apply investigative logic to solve complex scenarios. Designed for beginners in cybersecurity, aspiring digital forensic examiners, and CTF players looking to build a solid foundation, there are no prior forensics prerequisites required. Begin your journey into digital investigation and start cracking disk analysis challenges today.