Placing the Suspect Behind the Keyboard

You might be the most technically skilled cybersecurity professional alive-but without the right investigative mindset, you'll never solve the most complex cases.

Placing the Suspect Behind the Keyboard, Volume 3, Standard Edition is not a theoretical textbook. It's an operational manual for digital forensics and incident response professionals who must think critically, act lawfully, and build airtight cases that stand up in court. Through a high-stakes, time-sensitive case scenario, you'll walk step-by-step through the entire investigative process-starting with the crime itself and ending in a courtroom-ready report.

Each chapter presents a realistic investigative event, supported by real-world case parallels, warrant language, and evidentiary strategy. You'll learn how to:

-Triage evidence using tools like ADF Solutions, Magnet AXIOM, Berla, Cellebrite, and Elcomsoft

-Attribute anonymous online activity to physical actors using OSINT, metadata, and timelines

-Apply the CASE Framework to lawfully collect, analyze, correlate, and present evidence

-Navigate legal complexities around warrants, exigency, GPS tracking, cloud accounts, and surveillance

-Anticipate and preempt common defense strategies in court

-Avoid confirmation bias, overreliance on tools, and poor documentation habits that damage credibility

Whether you're in law enforcement, the military, the intelligence community, or private sector response, this book will show you what it truly takes to place the suspect behind the keyboard-and keep them there.

Written by Brett Shavers, a seasoned digital investigator and instructor, Volume 3 is the most tactical installment of the PSBK series to date. It also includes sidebars for legal context, investigative checklists, real-life case examples, and a preview of the companion volume (Volume 4), which retells the same case from the perspectives of the suspects, victims, and investigative team.

If you're ready to level up your DF/IR skillset with street-proven techniques that go beyond tool use-this is the book you've been waiting for.