You can see it againUnder pressure people bring back shapes and positions long after the wording has gone.
Picture superiority · Shepard 1967, Standing 1973
GIAC (SANS)GIAC Advanced Smartphone Forensics
The GIAC Advanced Smartphone Forensics (GASF) certification validates a practitioner's ability to perform expert-level forensic examinations on mobile phones and tablets. It covers the fundamentals of mobile forensics, device file system analysis, mobile application behavior, event artifact analysis, and the identification and analysis of mobile device malware. This credential is designed for experienced digital forensic examiners, incident responders, and law enforcement professionals who need to deliver reliable, court-defensible analysis from mobile devices.
Exam formatProctored exam
Duration120 minutes
DeliveryGIAC
Passing score69%
Free questions342
Content last reviewed 30 July 2026 · Up to date
The certification
What GIAC Advanced Smartphone Forensics proves, and what it asks of you
What this certification covers, who it is written for, and what the exam itself looks like on the day.
4domains
8objectives
67concepts
What it is
What this certification is
What it validates, who it is written for, and the experience it assumes.
About this certification
The GIAC Advanced Smartphone Forensics (GASF) certification validates a practitioner's aptitude for performing forensic examinations on devices such as mobile phones and tablets. GASF certification holders demonstrate a deep understanding of the fundamentals of mobile forensics, device file system analysis, mobile application behavior, event artifact analysis, and the identification and analysis of mobile device malware.
This certification is designed for professionals who need to conduct thorough and defensible investigations. It goes beyond basic data extraction, equipping candidates with the skills to analyze file system structures, interpret application activity, and uncover malicious software on both Android and Apple iOS platforms. Earning the GASF credential signals that you possess the advanced, hands-on knowledge required to deliver expert-level analysis in mobile device investigations.
Who it’s for
The GASF certification is intended for professionals who are already experienced in digital forensics and are looking to specialize in mobile device investigations. This includes experienced digital forensic examiners, media exploitation analysts, information security professionals, and incident response teams. It is also highly relevant for law enforcement officers, federal agents, detectives, and accident reconstruction investigators who need to extract and analyze evidence from mobile devices as part of their official duties.
Recommended experience
GIAC recommends practical work experience in digital forensics, along with training from SANS or other college-level courses or self-paced study programs. Practical work experience in digital forensics to ensure mastery of the skills necessary for certification; College-level courses or self-paced study through other programs or materials; Training is available in a variety of modalities including live training and OnDemand
The syllabus
What you’ll learn
Every domain and objective GIAC (SANS) measures, with the weight they carry on the exam.
The official GIAC (SANS) exam outline · checked 30 July 2026 · See the source
Mobile Forensics Foundations
- Introduction to Mobile Forensics
Mobile Device File System Analysis
- Mobile Device File System Artifacts
- Android Device File System Artifacts
- Apple Device File System Artifacts
Mobile Device Application Analysis
- Mobile Device Application Analysis
- Android Device Application Analysis
- Apple Device Application Analysis
Mobile Device Malware Analysis
- Mobile Device Malware Analysis
On the day
The exam itself
Everything GIAC (SANS) publishes about sitting it, and nothing we inferred.
Prerequisites
No mandatory prerequisites — this certification has no required predecessor exam or credential.
CertificationGIAC Advanced Smartphone Forensics
Exam formatProctored exam
Duration120 minutes
Questions75 questions
Passing score69%
DeliveryGIAC
After you pass
Where this credential goes next
The path GIAC (SANS) lays out, how the credential is kept, and where to book.
Step-by-step path to GIAC Advanced Smartphone Forensics
Credential earnedGIAC Advanced Smartphone Forensics Certification Renewal and maintenance
GIAC certifications must be renewed every four years by earning 36 CPE credits or retaking the exam. Stay current with the latest technologies and maintain your certification.
Learn more about renewal requirements Lifecycle status
This certification is currently active and available. GIAC (SANS) maintains this certification to validate current skills and industry relevance.
Exam status: ActiveMaintained by GIAC (SANS)
Exam registration
Register for the exam through GIAC, GIAC (SANS)’s authorized testing partner.
Schedule your examVisit the official GIAC (SANS) certification page for exam policies and requirements.
View the official pageYour coach
And when you are serious, your coach Pip takes over
Your coach in the app reads what you have answered with the book closed and tells you one thing to do tonight. It will not count an answer you gave with the page open, and it will tell you when you are not ready.
See how the coach worksBefore you book
Questions people ask
How is the GASF exam delivered?
All GIAC Certification exams are web-based and required to be proctored. There are two proctoring options: remote proctoring through ProctorU, and onsite proctoring through PearsonVUE.
How long do I have to take the exam after registering?
You will have 120 days from the date of activation to complete your certification attempt.
What is the passing score for the GASF exam?
The minimum passing score is 69%. This was set using a psychometric standard-setting study for all candidates who receive the exam version released on or after September 26, 2016.
What job roles does the GASF certification map to?
The GASF certification is for experienced digital forensic examiners, media exploitation analysts, information security professionals, incident response teams, law enforcement officers, federal agents, detectives, and accident reconstruction investigators.
Can I use the GASF certification towards a GIAC Portfolio Certification?
Yes. GASF is a Practitioner certification and can be used to fulfill the requirements for the GIAC Security Professional (GSP) or GIAC Security Expert (GSE) portfolio certifications.
How do I prepare for the GASF exam?
GIAC recommends training from SANS, which is available in a variety of modalities including live training and OnDemand. Practical work experience and college-level courses or self-paced study can also help ensure mastery of the skills necessary for certification.
Information freshness · Content last reviewed on 2026-07-30 Up to date
Practice free questions 342 questions, free, no account needed.
The curriculum
The whole exam, mapped and written
Every domain, every objective, and every concept GIAC (SANS) measures — each one written out.
4domains
8objectives
67concepts
71free pages
The domains, and what sits inside them
Every objective below is a page you can open and practise now, without an account.
The official GIAC (SANS) exam outline · checked 30 July 2026 · See the source
1Mobile Forensics Foundations32 questions
2Mobile Device File System Analysis126 questions
3Mobile Device Application Analysis131 questions
4Mobile Device Malware Analysis53 questions
Not a table of contents
Every line on this map already opens
In front of every objective the practice pages are already there, free and without an account. This is one objective, opened.
Introduction to Mobile Forensics7 pagesOpen →
Free in front of it
32 questions on this objective, five to a page. Every range above is a real page, open now, with no account.
Reading the map is not the same as knowing the ground
The curriculum tells you what is on the exam. Proving you know it is a different job — and it is the one the closed-book run does.
Free questions
342 questions. No account, no card.
The whole bank is open. 5 questions to a page, every answer explained, and a discussion thread on each one.
342questions
71pages
8objectives
Freealways
Browse by domain
Every objective, and every page range, is a link — so you can pick up exactly where you left off.
1Mobile Forensics Foundations32 questions
2Mobile Device File System Analysis126 questions
3Mobile Device Application Analysis131 questions
4Mobile Device Malware Analysis53 questions
What a practice page gives you
1Five to a page
Short enough to finish, long enough to matter.
2Every answer explained
Not only which one is right — why the others are wrong.
3A discussion on each
Ask, answer, and vote. Every question has its own thread.
A question, and the idea behind it
Every question comes from a concept
These are not trivia. Each one is written against a concept in the book, so when you get one wrong there is somewhere to go and find out why.
The visual book
See it once. Carry it into the exam.
The pages shown here come from our AI-900 book — an example of how each concept is written in plain language and, where the idea needs one, drawn as a full page you can take in at a glance.
67concepts
342free questions
Why a picture, and not another paragraph
Three reasons, and each one is a real finding rather than a slogan.
You can see it againThe whole idea at onceWhere it starts, what happens in the middle, what comes out, and the mistake to avoid.
Multimedia principle · MayerThe look-alikes sit togetherThe pairs the exam tests are drawn side by side, so the difference is seen, not told.
Dual coding · PaivioWhat one page is made of
You are never asked to read a poster here — only to see how one is built. After that, every other page is legible at a glance.
1A numbered strip on top
The idea as a sequence, followed with a finger before a word is read.
2Panels for the parts
What it is, how the machine learns it, when it is the right tool.
3The trap, framed
The distinction the exam tests, given its own box instead of buried in prose.
4One line at the bottom
The sentence to carry into the exam room.
Open book, on purpose
Answer it with the picture beside you
This is the part that teaches. The illustration and the written explanation stay where they are while you work, so a scenario stops being a memory test and becomes something you can simply look at.
It teaches · it does not count
A smartphone uses AI to unlock when the owner looks at the camera. Which AI capability is being used?
AImage classification
BFacial recognition
COptical character recognition
DObject detection
Look at the five steps. Detect finds a face, align straightens it, encode turns it into numbers, search compares it with a stored face, and decide answers one question: is this the same person? Classification would only say “a face”. Detection would only draw a box. Neither decides whose.
Then the page shuts, and it starts counting
The same questions come back with the book closed — that run is the one that counts. After it, your coach picks one thing for tonight, sized to the time you have, and brings pages back before you lose them.
Testing effect · Roediger & Karpicke 2006 · spacing effect · Cepeda et al. 2006
Official resources
Straight from GIAC (SANS)
Where the exam is defined, scheduled and scored.
1official link
67concepts mapped
The source
GIAC (SANS)’s own pages
We link to them rather than repeat them, so nothing here goes stale behind them.
Checked against the source
Every objective on the official GIAC (SANS) outline already has questions here
We build from the official skills outline, not from a summary of it — 8 objectives, 67 concepts written under them, and free questions against every one. When GIAC (SANS) changes the outline, this page changes with it.
8objectives on the outline→67concepts written→342free questions
An official page tells you what will be asked. It cannot tell you what you will get right.
That is the only question worth answering the night before, and no link answers it. You answer it by taking the questions with the book closed, and seeing what comes back.