Huge Month of June is Almost Here!

This may be the most I've ever looked forward to the month of June. The first couple weeks of the month are going to be absolutely filled with forensic geeky goodness.

First comes the 2011 Digital Forensics and Incident Response Summit in Austin, TX, which I'll be attending this year. I was presented with "an offer I couldn't refuse" and am very excited to say I'll be there. A look at the agenda shows what is bound to be a fantastic learning experience. The lineup of speakers and topics is top notch and I can't wait to get there. Besides, I'm gonna get to hang out with my good buddy Joe Garcia, host of the Cybercrime 101 podcast. Joe and talk several times a week and I know he's as excited as I am to head to Austin.

I'm also excited because one of my posts on the SANS Computer Forensics Blog, entitled "I'm Here, Now What?" has been nominated for a Forensic 4Cast Award. The awards will be presented at the Summit. I have to admit, my post wasn't as good as the posts by Rob Lee, entitled "Digital Forensic SIFTing: SUPER Timeline Analysis and Creation" and Matt Churchill, entitled "Free Digital Forensics Triage Tool" and I think either one of them could easily be the right one to vote for. Still, I'm more than a little honored to be nominated and will enjoy myself, regardless of the outcome.

The following week, I'll be driving eastward to McLean, VA with good friend Brad Garnett for the 2nd Annual Sleuth Kit and Open Source Digital Forensics Conference. This is going to be an excellent conference with presentations by some of my forensics heroes, such as Cory Altheide, Harlan Carvey, Simson Garfinkle and Brian Carrier.  We'll be attending one of the pre-conference workshops as well.

There are several people I "know" online that I hope to meet at both conferences. Some of them I already have established friendships with in the online world and there's no doubt I'll enjoy meeting them in person. I'll be writing recaps of my travels here once they're over with. I may post some from the conferences if time and circumstances allow.