Review: Cybercrime and Digital Forensics: An Introduction

Cybercrime and Digital Forensics: An Introduction by Thomas J. Holt
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This review is for the updated version 2017 edition:

I used this book this year for a Cyber Criminology class I teach. It is a good text for an overview/introduction class. The first 10 chapters cover different types of cybercrime such as hacking, cyber terror, digital piracy, and cyberstalking / bullying. Cybersex crimes are also covered and in this 2017 edition, child pornography and sex crimes have been separated out from the adult versions of these crimes. There is one chapter on old school criminology theories / the scientific method and how they apply to the cyber world today. The last chapters cover digital forensics, touching on subjects like spoliation and collecting forensics in the cloud.

This is my second year teaching with this text and I will likely use it again. As with any text, it is going to be quickly outdated, so I hope the authors continue to update the text. It is well laid out with a nice progression between subjects, interspersing historical information as well. Real-world examples are used, but I would have liked more examples that are more in-depth. Another plus is that the book uses technical terms, while clearly explaining terms and concepts for beginners to understand.

I also liked the discussion questions at the end of each chapter. These are thought-provoking questions that have the students thinking beyond what is discussed in that chapter. They made great essay questions for tests. If you are an instructor, the publisher has a website with extra material that can be used in the classroom, such as Powerpoint presentations and test questions.

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