Building a Lab: Ten Steps, Standards, Training and Budget
Where you are: Part VI — Professional Practice: Labs, Reports and the Courtroom · Lesson 6.2 · This lesson follows Chapter 12 of Dr. Al-Doori's IT Forensics Essentials: the ten steps to set up a lab, recommended vendors and tools, training, certification and compliance, and sample budgets.
What you'll be able to do
By the end of this lesson you will be able to plan a forensic lab, from its purpose to its budget, and name the standards it should meet.
- Walk through the book's ten steps for setting up an IT forensic lab.
- Name the main standards and certifications for labs and examiners.
- Read and adapt a sample lab budget.
The Ten Steps
Dr. Al-Doori sets out ten steps for building a lab.
- Define the scope and purpose. Corporate needs (insider threats, breaches, compliance), law enforcement (criminal cases involving cybercrime) or academic research and training? The answer shapes everything else.
- Plan the budget. Hardware and software, facility set-up and maintenance, salaries and training, and running costs. The book's range runs from about $50,000 to several million dollars, depending on the lab's complexity.
- Design the facility. Controlled access (biometric or keycard), secure areas for physical and digital evidence, ergonomic workstations with organized cabling, and uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) and generators to prevent data loss during outages.
- Buy hardware. Forensic workstations with large memory and storage, write-blockers, disk-imaging devices, mobile-device extractors and high-capacity network storage (NAS or SAN).
- Obtain software. Disk and file analysis (for example EnCase Forensic, FTK, Autopsy), mobile forensics (Cellebrite UFED, Oxygen Forensic Detective), memory and network analysis (Volatility, Wireshark, Xplico) and password recovery (Hashcat, John the Ripper). Keep licenses current and train staff.
- Hire qualified people. Certified forensic professionals, cyber security analysts who know current threats, legal expertise for compliance and admissible reports, and IT support to keep the lab running.
- Establish procedures. Evidence handling with a strict chain of custody, write-protected acquisition, standardized analysis and legally admissible reporting.
- Adhere to standards. ISO/IEC 17025 (general requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories), NIST guidance for tools and processes, and data protection laws such as GDPR and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).
- Invest in training and certification. Continuous learning is essential.
- Partner with vendors and experts. Work with vendors for updates and support, and with universities and law enforcement for research and shared resources.
Vendors and Tools
The book's vendor table groups equipment by category: forensic workstations (FRED from Digital Intelligence; SUMURI TALINO), write-blockers (Tableau, WiebeTech), disk imaging (Logicube Falcon-NEO, CRU), mobile tools (Cellebrite UFED, Oxygen Forensic Suite), storage (Synology NAS, Dell EMC), disk and file analysis (EnCase, FTK), open source (Autopsy, Volatility), network forensics (Wireshark, Xplico) and specialty tools (Passware Kit Forensic, Magnet AXIOM). Treat it as a map of categories: products, owners and names change.
Training, Certification and Compliance
The book points to these training routes:
- SANS Institute courses such as FOR500 (Windows Forensics) and FOR508 (Advanced Incident Response).
- EC-Council's CHFI (Computer Hacking Forensic Investigator).
- GIAC certifications such as GCFA (Certified Forensic Analyst) and GCFE (Certified Forensic Examiner).
- CertNexus CyberSec First Responder (CFR).
Others it mentions include the CFCE (Certified Forensic Computer Examiner, from IACIS) and the CCFE (Certified Computer Forensics Examiner). For compliance it cites ISO/IEC 17025, NIST SP 800-86 (integrating forensic techniques into incident response) and GDPR where European data is handled. Lesson 6.3 adds ISO/IEC 27037, the international guideline for identifying, collecting, acquiring and preserving digital evidence.
The Budget
The book gives high-level ranges:
| Category | Approximate cost |
|---|---|
| Facility set-up | $10,000 – $50,000 |
| Hardware | $20,000 – $100,000 |
| Software licenses | $15,000 – $50,000 per year |
| Training and certification | $5,000 – $20,000 per year |
| Personnel | Variable |
And a sample for a mid-sized lab:
| Item | Estimated cost |
|---|---|
| Workstations (4) | $40,000 |
| Write-blockers (6) | $6,000 |
| Mobile forensics tools | $15,000 |
| Forensic software | $30,000 per year |
| Secure storage | $10,000 |
| Training and certification | $20,000 per year |
| Miscellaneous | $10,000 |
| Total | $131,000+ |
Notice what the "+" hides: salaries, usually the largest cost of all, and the recurring software and training lines, which come back every year.
Real-World Example
Imagine (a fictional scenario) a university in the Gulf region planning a teaching and research lab. Step 1 decides its purpose: training students and supporting research, not casework. That choice changes the rest. Step 2: the budget leans toward many student workstations and open-source software (Autopsy, Volatility, Wireshark), with one commercial suite for comparison. Step 4: four write-blockers for teaching rather than for casework. Step 7: procedures still require logging and hashing, because students should learn the professional habits from day one. Step 8: since it handles no casework, accreditation is not needed at first, but the lab adopts ISO/IEC 27037 practices in its teaching. Step 10: it partners with a local police unit for guest lectures and anonymized training cases. The ten steps work for every kind of lab; the answers differ.
From the Book to 2026
What the book teaches. Ten steps, from purpose to partnerships; ISO/IEC 17025 and NIST as the standards; SANS, EC-Council, GIAC and CertNexus training; and budgets from about $50,000 upward.
Why it made sense. It is a sound, practical plan, and the standards it names remain central.
What has changed. Three updates. Regulation has tightened in places. In England and Wales, the Forensic Science Regulator's Code of Practice came into force as a statutory code in October 2023, and a revised version 2, laid before Parliament in March 2025, was set to replace it from 2 October 2025. It includes digital forensic activities such as "data capture, processing and analysis from digital storage devices", and builds on accreditation to ISO/IEC 17025. Certifications change. The book lists ISC2's CCFP, which no longer appears among ISC2's current certifications. OpenText retired the EnCase brand name; the technology continues in OpenText Forensic and related products, and the EnCase Certified Examiner (EnCE) certification remains recognized. Prices and products vary by country and year, so the book's figures are illustrative ranges, not quotes.
What to do now. Start from purpose, check which regulations and accreditation apply where the lab will work, confirm every certification and product with its issuer before buying, and budget for people and recurring costs, not just equipment.
What Would You Do?
A company's board gives you $60,000 to "set up a forensic lab". It handles about five internal investigations a year. What would you recommend? Decide, then compare with the model answer in the note below.
Knowledge Check
According to the book, what is the first step in setting up an IT forensic lab?
Which international standard sets general requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories, and underpins forensic lab accreditation?
In the book's sample mid-sized budget, which two lines recur every year?
Answers explained
- Question 1: b. Scope and purpose come first, because they decide the budget, design, tools and staff.
- Question 2: a. ISO/IEC 17025 is the laboratory competence standard. RFC 3227 is about evidence collection (b), FIPS 180-4 defines hash algorithms (c), and Article 33 covers breach notification (d).
- Question 3: b. The book lists forensic software ($30,000) and training and certification ($20,000) per year.
On "What Would You Do?": At five cases a year, a full in-house lab may not be good value. Consider a hybrid: a small, well-equipped capability (one or two workstations, write-blockers, imaging and open-source analysis tools, secure storage and trained staff) for evidence preservation and triage, plus a retained external forensic firm for complex or court-bound cases. Spend part of the budget on forensic readiness (logging, retention, procedures) and training, which pay off in every incident.
Key Takeaways
- Ten steps: purpose, budget, facility, hardware, software, people, procedures, standards, training and partnerships.
- ISO/IEC 17025 underpins lab accreditation. In England and Wales the Forensic Science Regulator's statutory Code applies to digital forensic activities.
- Training routes include SANS (FOR500, FOR508), GIAC (GCFA, GCFE), EC-Council (CHFI), IACIS (CFCE) and CertNexus (CFR). Check current status with each issuer.
- The book's sample mid-sized lab costs $131,000 or more before salaries, with software and training recurring yearly.
Sources
- Dr. Tahseen Al-Doori — IT Forensics Essentials: Concepts, Tools, and the Practice of Digital Investigation, Chapter 12 (12.3, 12.4, 12.7, 12.8)
- ISO — ISO/IEC 17025:2017 General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories
- ISO — ISO/IEC 27037:2012 Guidelines for identification, collection, acquisition and preservation of digital evidence
- GOV.UK — Forensic Science Regulator: Code of Practice
- NIST — SP 800-86: Guide to Integrating Forensic Techniques into Incident Response
- SANS — FOR500: Windows Forensic Analysis
- SANS — FOR508: Advanced Incident Response, Threat Hunting, and Digital Forensics
- GIAC — GCFA and GIAC — GCFE
- EC-Council — CHFI
- IACIS — CFCE
- CertNexus — CyberSec First Responder
- ISC2 — Certifications
- OpenText — What happened to EnCase? (February 2026)