Practical Digital Forensics: Cloud & Virtual Machine Forensics (Practical Digital Forensics: Real-World Case Studies and Tools) Paperback – January 25, 2026

Ever tried to image a hard drive that doesn’t exist? Welcome to the cloud.In Practical Digital Forensics: Cloud & Virtual Machine Forensics, I take you on a caffeine-fueled adventure through the wild skies of modern investigation — where your suspects live in virtual machines, your evidence floats in someone else’s data center, and your best tools are wit, patience, and a healthy respect for APIs.This isn’t your average step-by-step forensic manual. It’s a field guide for the curious, the relentless, and the slightly sleep-deprived professionals who chase digital ghosts across virtual environments. Whether you’re analyzing a deleted VM snapshot, collecting evidence from AWS or Azure, or wrestling Kubernetes logs at 2 a.m., this book gives you the practical skills — and comic relief — to survive the journey.Inside, you’ll discover:How to perform forensics on cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud) without losing your sanity.The anatomy of virtual machines, hypervisors, and snapshots — and how to recover evidence hidden inside them.Techniques for live cloud incident response, evidence preservation, and API-based data collection.How to detect insider threats, IAM abuse, and data leaks across cloud services.Case studies drawn from real investigations — including The Virtual Machine Takeover, where we follow an attacker through multiple layers of virtualization to digital justice.Along the way, we’ll laugh at our mistakes, celebrate small wins, and uncover what it truly means to be a cloud-era investigator. Because cloud forensics isn’t just about chasing criminals — it’s about understanding a world where “the server” is a concept, not a box.Part of the series:Practical Digital Forensics: Real-World Case Studies and ToolsIf you’ve read my earlier books, you know this series is built for people who do forensics — not just talk about it. Each title tackles a new corner of our ever-evolving digital universe:Mastering Evidence Recovery — getting data back from the brink.Windows Forensics Deep Dive and Linux & macOS Investigations — decoding the operating systems we love to hate.Mobile Device Forensics in Action — because phones always tell the truth.Network & Cloud Investigation Techniques — chasing packets across the ether.Memory & Malware Analysis for Investigators — battling what hides in the shadows.Incident Response & Breach Analysis — firefighting with precision.Real Cybercrime Case Studies — stories too wild for fiction.Advanced Techniques & Automation — scripting your sanity.The Investigator’s Toolkit and From Evidence to Expert Witness — the gear and the grit behind the profession.And finally, The Complete Guide (All-in-One Edition) — the entire forensic universe in one massive, glorious tome.Each book stands alone, but together, they form a roadmap for anyone serious about mastering the art (and science) of digital investigation.Why This Book MattersCloud and virtualization forensics are the new frontier of cybersecurity. Evidence no longer lives on a desk; it lives in elastic storage, distributed networks, and temporary compute instances that can vanish in seconds. Traditional forensics tools can’t handle that world — but you can.By the end of this book, you’ll know how to navigate virtual environments, capture transient evidence, maintain legal chain of custody, and outsmart attackers who think hiding behind the cloud makes them invisible. Spoiler: it doesn’t.— Rauven KalderichAuthor of the Practical Digital Forensics: Real-World Case Studies and Tools Series Read more