Assignment 2: Forensic Lab Design

Imagine the university that employs you as an information security professional has recently identified the need to design and build a digital forensic laboratory. You have been tasked with designing the lab for the organization.

Write a four to five (4-5) page paper in which you:
1. Explicate the steps you would take to plan a budget for the lab, keeping in mind the general business objective to avoid unneeded costs.
2. Recommend the physical requirements and controls that you would consider implementing in order to keep the lab safe and secure.
3. Identify at least three (3) hardware and software tools that you would include in the design of the lab and explain your reasons behind your choices.
4. Identify the high-level criteria that would be considered when selecting the forensic workstations to be utilized.
5. Describe the mandatory policies, processes, and procedures you would implement in order to maintain the lab environment and preserve evidence.
6. Design a floor plan for the lab using a diagramming application such as Visio or Dia. Note: The graphically depicted solution is not included in the required page length.
7. Use at least three (3) quality resources in this assignment. Note: Wikipedia and similar Websites do not qualify as quality resources.

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

• Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format.
• Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student's name, the professor's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.

• Include charts or diagrams created in Visio or one of their equivalents such as Open Project Dia. The completed diagrams / charts must be imported into the Word document before the paper is submitted.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

• Describe the purpose and structure of a digital forensics lab.
• Examine and explain the evidence life cycle.
• Describe the constraints on digital forensic investigations.
• Develop a computer forensics deployment plan that addresses and solves a proposed business problem.
• Use technology and information resources to research issues in computer forensics.
• Write clearly and concisely about computer forensics topics using proper writing mechanics and technical style conventions.