Issue 5 is out next week - November 1st and it's our training and education special, as well as our first anniversary (happy birthday to us!), so make sure you've got a valid subscription in order to get access to what promises to be a very special edition.

Need to renew? If you subscribed at the start of this exciting journey, you may need to renew your subscription - don't miss out on the next 4 editions of DFM starting with Issue 6 on release from February 2011.We truly have some great things to come over the next year.

1. DFM news and developments
2. Competition News
3. New ways to pay
4. Digital Forensics Profiling Survey
5. There's only a few days to go before Issue 5 is out...here's a few things you'll find inside (and sneak preview of issue 6)...

Ok, on with the newsletter...

1. DFM news...

There have been a lot more stories in the global press recently about eCrime and, thankfully, its prevention. Security and police experts have been warning of the growing trend of cyber crime activities for some time now, and without appearing to be the harbingers of doom, are we on the verge of a massive rise in cyber-related crime? If so, then the work that we're all doing becomes even more important, as does the need for increased communications between us all to help share knowledge and practice around the world, to try and stay one step ahead of the bad guys.

In times when government and organisational budgets are constantly under review and resources are stretched, there is a growing need for the digital forensics and cyber security industry to speak as a voice to ensure global standards are set and the standard of the 'servce' that we provide meets expectations. In a recent survey that included exploring training standards, there are suggestions that this is an area that needs some clarification and stardardisation across the world. There is also a greater need for industry and academia to work closer together.

Some highlights from the past weeks...

• "Feds experiencing critical cybersecurity staff shortage", states Defence Systems site in a piece on how the Homeland Security Department is recruiting cybersecurity personnel. It has double the number of professionals working in the National Cybersecurity Division last year, but that still brings the number working in the division to only 220. Read more


• The Georgia Tech Information Security Center's 2011 report on emerging cyber threats highlights growing use of social networks, Internet-connected mobile devices, and the online connectivity of entities such as hospitals and utilities as some of the most enticing targets for cyber criminals. Login to the DFM site and Download the report here or read more


• National Security Report published by the UK Government claims the most important threats to national security are from terrorism and cyber-crime. Read more or login to the DFM site and download the report here.


• The Pentagon is emerging as the go-to agency for defending U.S. computer networks from cyberattacks. The National Defence magazine reports that the Defense Department will be seeking closer alliances with academia and industry, where much of the cybersecurity expertise resides. Read more

2. Issue 5 Competition

To celebrate our 1st birthday in style, the competition prize in Issue 5 is pretty special. We’ve got a grand first prize plus four runners up prizes, so your chances of winning have gone up by a factor of five. Without further ado, here is what you could win:

• 1st prize: Archos Player, books from O’Reilly and software from Kuiper Forensics
• 4 runners up prizes of software from Kuiper Forensics

So what do I have to do to win all this booty? The competition this time is a little different. Following in the tradition of the great cyber challenge, we have a pleasant image for you to take a look at. However, not all is what it seems...

Full competition details can be found inside Issue 5, so don't delay...order your copy today!

Digital Forensics Magazine, the leading resource for the IT Security practitioner and students, has established a LinkedIn group to help keep members of the digital forensics and security community involved and up-to-date with all forensics matters. We hope to establish a good network where we can encourage debate and keep members of the group informed of what's going on in the digital forensics arena. Join the DFM LinkedIn Group

If your business would like to take a subscription to DFM and needs to invoice us, please get in touch and we can arrange for this to happen - not forgetting that we offer group membership discounts for more than 6 subscriptions from the same business.

We appreciate that some companies and public sector bodies have processes that prefer its members to raise the relevant paperwork to take a subscrription to magazines, etc. so we can now offer this service. Write to us at enquiries@digitalforensicsmagazine.com for more details and how we can invoice your business for a subscription.

4. DF Profiling Survey

One of the team here at DFM Towers is currently exploring the fascinating areas of digital forensics profiling as part of their MSc.

As they put it best, "Digital Forensics Profiling is the use of digital forensics artifacts in creation of a personality or behavioural profile of a suspect, victim or witness to inform some aspect of the investigation. Profiles can be used to aid in the overall investigation process, or used in specific ways to help define a strategy for an interrogation, to help define the geographical profile of a suspect, to help determine personality traits that a suspect may exhibit, or indeed determine whether a witness is reliable."

The research project into profiling iPhone users is conducting a survey to look for correlations in phone usage against personality traits. We're hoping that you will take a few moments to help make this survey a success by taking part. To do so, simply follow this link.

The results of this survey will be published in the summer of 2011 and will form part of an overall study into the subject of profiling individuals based on phone usage. Thanks very much for your participation in advance.

Find out more about the digital forensics profiling study at www.dfprofile.com (will open a new window).

Save 15% on the price of annual subscriptions to Digital Forensics Magazine when you take a group subscription deal. Perfect for large teams spread around the country or world. Email us at enquiries@digitalforensicsmagazine.com for more details, or visit the site.

Our discount for students finishes at the end of October, so if you haven'y got the discount code yet, you better be quick! If we receive your request for the code before 1st Nov, we'll send the code to allow you 20% on price of the digital version only. 

Simply email marketing@digitalforensicsmagazine.com from a valid academic email address and we'll send you back a code that will enable you to get 20% discount when you go through the checkout process from our subscription pages.

Offer closes midnight on 31st October.

5. Coming up in in issue 5...
IDEAL COURSES FOR DIGITAL FORENSICS - Christa Miller explores the different courses out there.

QUALIFICATIONS & CERTIFICATIONS - Living legend Rob Lee from SAN's discusses the pros and cons of qualifications versus certifactions.

TRAINING FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT - Bev Nutter from the UK Met Police DEFS will take a look at the ongoing training requirements for not just law officers, but anyone involved in digital forensics.

2CENTRE - Just how are the Europeans are attempting to harmonise DF Training - we find out in Issue 5.

Don't miss out, get your subscription at www.digitalforensicsmagazine.com

On the night shift here at DFM Towers, the newsletter monkey found the plan for issue 6 lying around on our Editor's desk. The team are working on what looks to be an exciting special issue on Operational Forensics:

Situational Awareness & Digital Forensics
Ian Murphy takes a look at the latest issue to hit the world of operational forensics that of situational awareness. Investigating how simple monitoring and management are no longer sufficient to investigate incidents on our networks, time is the enemy and access to information to aid decision making can be the key to success or failure.

Digital Forensics in the Cloud
With the increase in cloud computing services available to home and enterprise users, digital forensic investigators need to consider what the challenges are for collecting and analysing data. This article by Emma Web Hobson will examine five possible areas of data capture when collecting cloud service data.

Netflow & Forensics
Digital forensic examiners are in a constant race to stay one step ahead of the bad guys; always looking for new ways to uncover evidence of probative value. This article by George Bailey discusses the challenges and benefits to using netflow data in digital forensic investigations.

BotNet Forensics
Jonathan Rajewski investigates “what role does digital forensics play in BotNet investigations?”

Criminal Profiling
We continue our series on criminal profiling by Lucas Donato. In this article Lucas takes an in depth look at the phases of a computer hacking attack and what information can be used to profile the hacker.

If you joined us from Issue 1 of DFM, your subscription may soon be running out. Make sure you don't miss out on the next 12 months of DFM. Renew now to ensure there's no gap in your subscription and you don't miss a single issue over the next year.

We'd love to hear back from our readers about any matters related to digital forensics (or anything else if you are so inclined). Feel free to drop us a line at 360@digitalforensicsmagazine.com about topics you would like to see us explore within Digital Forensics Magazine...and stay tuned for our first Digital Forensics Magazine survey, where we'll be uncovering the issues facing the industry today and in the future.

Coming up in next month's newsletter...product reviews, downloads & more great offers for DFM readers, feedback from the events and lots more.

Don't forget to read about all the latest happenings at DFM Towers on our blog.

Happy Hallowe'en!