March 1, 2026 The Case Against Limited-Scope Warrants for Digital Evidence " If someone is able to show me that what I think or do is not right, I will happily change, for I seek the truth, by which no one was ever truly harmed." -Marcus Aurelius I don’t work in full-time law enforcement anymore. I maintain professional relationships and credentials with the training academy, but my days of writing and executing search warrants are (likely) behind me. However, my current professional landscape has me still in the proverbial mix, particularly with regard to how high-tech investigations are being conducted all over the United States. While I’m not the one writing the warrants (or other legal demand), I’m very much in the role of reviewing the case files, assessing the merits of the documentation and advising attorneys on the efficacy (or lack thereof) of the investigation and ensuing digital forensic analysis in the criminal arena. Yes, the majority of ...
February 1, 2026 An Exploration of the Grad School Decision in DF/IR " It is impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he already knows." -Epictetus I recently decided to return to school in pursuit of a Master’s Degree in my chosen field – Digital Forensics. I often have students ask me whether or not an MS degree is necessary in DF/IR. I suppose it isn’t, depending on what you want to do. There was a lot of research and option-weighing that went into this decision. I’m going to explore some of them here, and hopefully this will help the next person deciding whether or not to pursue a Graduate-level education in Digital Forensics. At the very least, maybe it will be a good reminder for me to return to when things aren’t as exciting as I’d like them to be in this pursuit. Calculating Options Like a lot of both private and public entities that conduct any kind of technical work that requires continuing education, my employer offers a portion o...