Glossary term
NIST SP 800-86
NIST SP 800-86 is the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology's Special Publication 800-86, "Guide to Integrating Forensic Techniques into Incident Response," published in 2006 and widely adopted as a reference for forensic process.
NIST SP 800-86 lays out the standard four-phase forensic process: Collection, Examination, Analysis, and Reporting. The publication is widely cited in forensic methodology because it is freely available, vendor-neutral, and clearly written.
Although the publication is American, its process guidance translates directly to Canadian forensic work. We cite NIST SP 800-86 as one of the standards our methodology aligns with, alongside NIST SP 800-101 Rev. 1 (Mobile Forensics) and NIST SP 800-61 Rev. 2 (Incident Handling).
For Canadian counsel, citing NIST SP 800-86 in an expert report supports the methodology section without overcommitting to any specific certification scheme. We are not ISO certified and do not claim ISO certification; we work to the NIST process guidance and to IACIS and HTCIA best practices.