Hello everyone, I'm current a college freshman getting a AS in Networking/Cybersecurity. I want to be a Computer Forensic Specialist (dealing with criminal's hard drives using hashing, write blockers, autopsy, documentation etc.), probably/hopefully working for my state's bureau of investigation. However when researching for what I need educationally (Degrees and Certs) I have found that my field is also often used with the term Digital Forensics, which (if I understand it correctly) leans more towards investigating cyberattacks. While this does sound fun, I would not want to do this for my job, I have a natural incline towards hardware and find it more interesting, no offense to anyone doing this as a job, y'all are awesome for that!
So it begs the question: What is the proper term for the forensics I want to do? And if anyone happens to know it, what degree/certs would I need to do this/that would help me? I appreciate any help I could get, thank you all!
“Computer forensics” is the older term. “Digital forensics” is the current term used today. When you start talking about cyberattacks, you're generally moving into incident response, which uses digital forensic methods as part of the work.
One thing worth knowing: DFIR (Digital Forensics and Incident Response) combines two related but distinct disciplines. They overlap, but they're not the same job.
In my opinion, this is the most important thing for any student to figure out before committing to an educational plan in DFIR.