The following Frequently Asked Questions, answered by the authors of this book, are designed to both measure your understanding of the concepts presented in this chapter and to assist you with real-life implementation of these concepts. To have your questions about this chapter answered by the author, browse to www.syngress.com/solutions and click on the Ask the Author form.

• Q: What is your opinion on the certification of personnel? Can t we fix all the problems regarding experts and admissibility of evidence once personnel are certified?

• A: Certification of personnel is, in my opinion, counterproductive. One of the more commonly seen certifications is vendor certification. These trainings are generally useful as long as the training certified that they attended training, not that they are certified in the use of a tool. Another option is to obtain a certification through an independent certifying body. A number of these types of organization exist and they do provide a means by which people can advertise their level of knowledge and skill, which is rather handy when reaching out for assistance across jurisdictional boundaries, as often occurs while investigating crimes with a cyber component. However, it is highly unlikely that the court system will give carte-blanche acceptance to a particular certification. If you were to testify as an expert, your certifications may assist you in passing muster as an expert witness, but the certification won t be an automatic bye onto the stand.

• Some last thoughts on certifications: Let s assume for...