The concept of the IACIS intrusion investigation training class was born when one of the instructors retired from law enforcement and started working Incident Response consulting. He quickly realized that there were gaps in his forensic knowledge that hindered his ability to quickly and accurately support corporate clients who were victims of a cyber intrusion (“imaging a shutdown Windows system is easy, but what’s ESXi and how do I get an image out of it?”). These gaps were further highlighted when LE peers asked for advice or recommendations for training or skill development. A list of primary functional skills was developed and provided to peers wanting to update or improve their skills in the IR arena. Unfortunately, there wasn’t any single class that covered most of these skills, much less all of them. So, it was decided to develop a one-week class, which quickly turned into a two-week class that focused on providing investigative functionality in most of these skill areas. This class became the IACIS Cyber Incident Forensic Response (CIFR) class, which focuses on teaching the combined lists of investigation concepts. While the class doesn’t make a student an expert in all these areas, the level of training is deep and broad enough so the student understands the concepts and processes and can competently apply them to an investigation. The intent is to provide “a 12-inch deep and a mile wide” approach to a broad range of investigation skills, vs. having to spend many thousands of dollars for 5 days on an “inch wide and an unnecessary mile deep” single topic, then many thousands of dollars for 5 days on yet another single topic.
CIFR uses a real network environment in the classroom to simulate a corporate network, integrating actual network and domain architecture into the instruction to increase realism. Students interact with Windows and Linux VMs in the class and are shown how their actions are presented at the local, domain, and SIEM logging levels. The class has a large number of labs, based on a belief the student learns better by doing the task vs reading about the task in bullets on a slide presentation.
The typical class attendees include:
- LE conducting or supporting intrusion investigations
- LE who have completed many other classes and are looking for something to grow their skillset
- Corporate IT security
- Corporate IT admins
- Academia
Throughout the 2- week class, students will cover topics and lab exercises that include:
- RDP
- Join a domain
- Create Group Policies (GPOs)
- Use net.exe commands in intrusion processes
- SSH
- dd image using netcat
- dd image using ssh
- Log analysis with Linux command line
- Remote analysis and acquisition with FEX
- Analysis of network captures with Wireshark
- Generation and use of timelines
- Analysis of website defacement incident
- Analysis of ssh server compromise incident
- Analysis of compromised Windows and Linux images
- RAM capture and analysis
- Static and dynamic malware analysis
The first week ends with two log analysis labs drawn from real-world incidents.
The second week ends with the students witnessing an attack, with a walkthrough of the attack process and the resulting intrusion or malware artifacts. Students then acquire RAM and a system image across the classroom network and spend Friday analyzing the RAM, image, and malware from the attack. Click here to view Schedule
WHEN: April 28 – May 9, 2025
COST: $3,695.00 US Dollars
EQUIPMENT: Classroom laptops will be given to the students to take home and keep.
REGISTRATION: NOW OPEN
Existing IACIS members, simply log in with your credentials and go to the Products page to purchase and register for the course.
For non-IACIS members, the membership fee is waived with the purchase of the training course; however, to register for the course you must complete a membership application at the time of purchase. Purchase training course HERE.
***IMPORTANT*** Regarding IACIS’s upcoming 2025 CIFR Training, please note that payment must be received NO LATER than 45 days prior the first day of class, by March 12th, 2025. Failure to meet this deadline will result in the forfeiture of your reserved seat, which will be made available to other interested registrants. This policy is strictly enforced, with NO EXCEPTIONS.
While we do accept purchase orders, full payment is expected by the March 12th deadline. As IACIS makes advance purchases of all necessary equipment and materials, ensuring that all seats are confirmed is essential to our training courses.
To assist in this process, we kindly request that you inform your finance department of the March 12th payment deadline to prevent any issues that could jeopardize your participation in IACIS’s training. Please make sure you have all the appropriate paperwork turned in and in a timely manner to facilitate a smooth and prompt transfer of the payment for your training. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact our Treasurer at treasurer@iacis.com
Cancellations within 45 days from the start of class to 31 days from the start of class will be subject to a $150 cancellation fee. There will be no refunds within 30 days from the start of class.****
* On-Site Check-in Times (student pickup of equipment, ID card, IACIS info) are:
Sunday, April 27, 2025: 1800 – 2000
Monday, April 28, 2025: 0700 – 0800
* Please make arrangements to arrive in time to check-in so that you may be in class promptly on the first day.
COURSE NOTES:
Please read the following notes regarding this class:
- Classes begin at 8:00 AM ET and conclude at 5:00 PM ET each day, with a one-hour lunch break. Classes will end at 4:00 PM ET on the last day of class. Please do not arrange for departing flights prior to 7:00 PM ET to allow time for travel to the airport and any security clearances.
- The dress code for the conference is business casual (collared shirts and slacks). The wearing of shorts, flip-flops, tank tops, etc., is not allowed in the classroom. Personal computers are not permitted in the classroom. Students are required to attend all classes to successfully complete the program. Students who fail to meet the attendance requirements will not be issued a certificate at the conclusion of the program.
HOTEL BOOKING:
The course will be taught at the Caribe Royale Orlando, 8101 World Center Drive, Orlando, Florida 32821 (USA). This hotel is 16 miles from the Orlando International Airport, it has a large pool, spacious workout facility and is close to Disney World and Universal Studios.
Book via the Caribe Royale Orlando site here. If you choose to stay at a different hotel and commute to the conference, you may be subject to parking fees per conference center policy.
Or book via phone by calling the following numbers:
Reservations Toll-Free: 1-800-823-8300/1-888-258-7501 or the local number 407-238-8000.
CANCELLATION INFO: If IACIS is unable to hold the Orlando training event, then all students who have registered and paid will have the option of a full refund or a reserved seat at next year’s training event. IACIS is not responsible for any outside expenses (e.g., travel and accommodation) in the event of the training event being canceled. Anyone who paid for training will receive complimentary membership through the year that his/her training takes place.
