UNIT-3

Computer Forensics Analysis and

Validation
 Objectives

• Determine what data to analyze in a computer

forensics investigation
• Explain tools used to validate data
• Explain common data-hiding techniques
• Describe methods of performing a remote
acquisition

2
Determining What Data to Collect and
Analyze
• Examining and analyzing digital evidence depends
on:
– Nature of the case
– Amount of data to process
– Search warrants and court orders
– Company policies
• Scope creep
– Investigation expands beyond the original description
• Right of full discovery of digital evidence

3
 Approaching Computer Forensics
Cases

• Some basic principles apply to almost all computer

forensics cases
– The approach you take depends largely on the
specific type of case you’re investigating
• Basic steps for all computer forensics
investigations
– For target drives, use only recently wiped media that
have been reformatted
• And inspected for computer viruses

4
 Approaching Computer Forensics
Cases (continued)

• Basic steps for all computer forensics

investigations (continued)
– Inventory the hardware on the suspect’s computer
and note the condition of the computer when seized
– Remove the original drive from the computer
• Check date and time values in the system’s CMOS
– Record how you acquired data from the suspect
drive
– Process the data methodically and logically

5
 Approaching Computer Forensics
Cases (continued)

• Basic steps for all computer forensics

investigations (continued)
– List all folders and files on the image or drive
– If possible, examine the contents of all data files in
all folders
• Starting at the root directory of the volume partition
– For all password-protected files that might be related
to the investigation
• Make your best effort to recover file contents

6
 Approaching Computer Forensics
Cases (continued)

• Basic steps for all computer forensics

investigations (continued)
– Identify the function of every executable (binary or
.exe) file that doesn’t match known hash values
– Maintain control of all evidence and findings, and
document everything as you progress through your
examination

7
 Refining and Modifying the
Investigation Plan

• Considerations
– Determine the scope of the investigation
– Determine what the case requires
– Whether you should collect all information
– What to do in case of scope creep
• The key is to start with a plan but remain flexible in
the face of new evidence

8
Using AccessData Forensic Toolkit to
Analyze Data

• FTK can perform forensic analysis on the following

file systems

 Microsoft FAT12, FAT16 and FAT32

 Microsoft NFTS
 Linux Ext2fs and Ext3fs

9
 FTK has two options for searching

• 1 Indexed search

Catalogs all words on evidence drive

Returns search results quickly

• 2 Live Search
Search in text hidden in allocated space
Search for alphanumeric and hexadecimal values
(such as phone, credit card, social security numbers)

10
11
12
13
 Validating Forensic Data
• One of the most critical aspects of computer
forensics
• Ensuring the integrity of data you collect is essential
for presenting evidence in court
• Most computer forensic tools provide automated
hashing of image files
• Computer forensics tools have some limitations in
performing hashing
– Learning how to use advanced hexadecimal editors is
necessary to ensure data integrity

14
 Validating with Hexadecimal Editors

• Advanced hexadecimal editors offer many features

not available in computer forensics tools
– Such as hashing specific files or sectors
• Hex Workshop provides several hashing algorithms
– Such as MD5 and SHA-1
– See Figures 9-4 through 9-6
• Hex Workshop also generates the hash value of
selected data sets in a file or sector

15
 Validating with Hexadecimal Editors
(continued)

• Using hash values to discriminate data

– AccessData has a separate database, the Known
File Filter (KFF)
• Filters known program files from view, such as
MSWord.exe, and identifies known illegal files, such
as child pornography
– KFF compares known file hash values to files on
your evidence drive or image files
– Periodically, AccessData updates these known file
hash values and posts an updated KFF

16
 Validating with Computer Forensics
Programs

• Commercial computer forensics programs have

built-in validation features
• ProDiscover’s .eve files contain metadata that
includes the hash value
– Validation is done automatically
• Raw format image files (.dd extension) don’t
contain metadata
– So you must validate raw format image files
manually to ensure the integrity of data

17
 Validating with Computer Forensics
Programs (continued)

• In AccessData FTK Imager

– When you select the Expert Witness (.e01) or the
SMART (.s01) format
• Additional options for validating the acquisition are
displayed
– Validation report lists MD5 and SHA-1 hash values
• Figure 9-7 shows how ProDiscover’s built-in
validation feature works

18
Validating with Computer Forensics
Programs (continued)

19
 Addressing Data-hiding Techniques

• File manipulation
– Filenames and extensions
– Hidden property
• Disk manipulation
– Hidden partitions
– Bad clusters
• Encryption
– Bit shifting
– Steganography

20
 Hiding Partitions

• Delete references to a partition using a disk editor

– Re-create links for accessing it
• Use disk-partitioning utilities
– GDisk
– PartitionMagic
– System Commander
– LILO
• Account for all disk space when analyzing a disk

21
Hiding Partitions (continued)

22
Hiding Partitions (continued)

23
 Marking Bad Clusters

• Common with FAT systems

• Place sensitive information on free space
• Use a disk editor to mark space as a bad cluster
• To mark a good cluster as bad using Norton Disk
Edit
– Type B in the FAT entry corresponding to that cluster

24
 Bit-shifting

• Old technique
• Shift bit patterns to alter byte values of data
• Make files look like binary executable code
• Tool
– Hex Workshop

25
Bit-shifting (continued)

26
Bit-shifting (continued)

27
Bit-shifting (continued)

28
 Using Steganography to Hide Data

• Greek for “hidden writing”

• Steganography tools were created to protect
copyrighted material
– By inserting digital watermarks into a file
• Suspect can hide information on image or text
document files
– Most steganography programs can insert only small
amounts of data into a file
• Very hard to spot without prior knowledge
• Tools: S-Tools, DPEnvelope, jpgx, and tte

29
 Examining Encrypted Files
• Prevent unauthorized access
– Employ a password or passphrase
• Recovering data is difficult without password
– Key escrow
• Designed to recover encrypted data if users forget
their passphrases or if the user key is corrupted after
a system failure
– Cracking password
• Expert and powerful computers
– Persuade suspect to reveal password

30
 Recovering Passwords

• Techniques
– Dictionary attack
– Brute-force attack
– Password guessing based on suspect’s profile
• Tools
– AccessData PRTK
– Advanced Password Recovery Software Toolkit
– John the Ripper

31
 Recovering Passwords (continued)

• Using AccessData tools with passworded and

encrypted files
– AccessData offers a tool called Password Recovery
Toolkit (PRTK)
• Can create possible password lists from many
sources
– Can create your own custom dictionary based on
facts in the case
– Can create a suspect profile and use biographical
information to generate likely passwords

32
Recovering Passwords (continued)

33
Recovering Passwords (continued)

34
Recovering Passwords (continued)

35
 Recovering Passwords (continued)

• Using AccessData tools with passworded and

encrypted files (continued)
– FTK can identify known encrypted files and those
that seem to be encrypted
• And export them
– You can then import these files into PRTK and
attempt to crack them

36
37
Recovering Passwords (continued)

38
 Performing Remote Acquisitions

• Remote acquisitions are handy when you need to

image the drive of a computer far away from your
location
– Or when you don’t want a suspect to be aware of an
ongoing investigation

39
 Remote Acquisitions with Runtime
Software

• Runtime Software offers the following shareware

programs for remote acquisitions:
– DiskExplorer for FAT
– DiskExplorer for NTFS
– HDHOST
• Preparing DiskExplorer and HDHOST for remote
acquisitions
– Requires the Runtime Software, a portable media
device (USB thumb drive or floppy disk), and two
networked computers
40
 Remote Acquisitions with Runtime
Software (continued)

• Making a remote connection with DiskExplorer

– Requires running HDHOST on a suspect’s computer
– To establish a connection with HDHOST, the
suspect’s computer must be:
• Connected to the network
• Powered on
• Logged on to any user account with permission to run
noninstalled applications
– HDHOST can’t be run surreptitiously
– See Figures 9-18 through 9-24
41
 Remote Acquisitions with Runtime
Software (continued)

• Making a remote acquisition with DiskExplorer

– After you have established a connection with
DiskExplorer from the acquisition workstation
• You can navigate through the suspect computer’s files
and folders or copy data
– The Runtime tools don’t generate a hash for
acquisitions

42
 Summary

• Examining and analyzing digital evidence depends

on the nature of the investigation and the amount
of data you have to process
• For most computer forensics investigations, you
follow the same general procedures
• One of the most critical aspects of computer
forensics is validating digital evidence

43
 Summary (continued)

• Data hiding involves changing or manipulating a file

to conceal information
• Remote acquisitions are useful for making an
image of a drive when the computer is far away
from your location or when you don’t want a
suspect to be aware of an ongoing investigation

44
Chapter 14: Computer and
Network Forensics
Guide to Computer Network Security
 Computer Forensics

• Computer forensics involves the preservation, identification,

extraction, documentation, and interpretation of computer media
for evidentiary and/or root cause analysis.
• Arose as a result of the growing problem of computer crimes.
• Computer crimes fall into two categories:
– Computer is a tool used in a crime – because of the role of computers
and networks in modern communications, it is inevitable that
computers are used in crimes.
• Investigation into these crimes often involves searching computers
suspected to be involved.
– Computer itself is a victim of a crime – this commonly referred to as
incident response.
• It refers to the examination of systems that have been remotely attacked.
• Forensics experts follow clear, well-defined mythologies and
procedures

Kizza - Guide46
• History Of Computer Forensics
– Computer forensics started a few years ago- when it
was simple to collect evidence from a computer.
– While basic forensic methodologies remain the same,
technology itself is rapidly changing – a challenge to
forensic specialists.

Kizza - Guide47
• Basic forensic methodology consists of:
– Acquire the evidence without altering or damaging the
original
• Look for evidence
• Recover evidence
• Handle evidence with care
• Preserve evidence
– Authenticate that your recovered evidence is the
same as the originally seized data
– Analyze the data without modifying it.

Kizza - Guide48
 Acquire the Evidence
• Keep in mind that every case is different
• Do not disconnect the computers – evidence may be only in RAM – So
collect information from a live system.
• Consider the following issues:
– Handling the evidence- if you do not take care of the evidence, the rest
of the investigation will be compromised.
– Chain of custody – the goal of maintaining a good chain of custody to
ensure evidence integrity, prevent tempering with evidence. The chain
should be answers to:
• Who collected it
• How and where
• Who took possession of it
• how was it stored and protected in storage
• Who took it out of storage and why?

Kizza - Guide49
 Storage Media
• Hard Drives
– Make an image copy and then restore the image to a
freshly wiped hard drive for analysis
– Remount the copy and start to analyze it.
– Before opening it get information on its configuration
– Use tools to generate a report of lists of the disk’s
contents ( PartitionMagic)
– View operating system logs.

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 Handle Evidence With Care

– Collection
• You want the evidence to be so pure that it supports your case.
– Identification
• Methodically identify every single item that comes out of the
suspect’s/victim’s location and labeled.
– Transportation
• Evidence is not supposed to be moved so when you move it be
extremely careful.
– Storage
• Keep the evidence in a cool, dry, and appropriate place for
electronic evidence.
– Documenting the investigation
• Most difficult for computer professionals because technical people
are not good at writing down details of the procedures.

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 Authenticating evidence

• Authenticating evidence is difficult because:

– Crime scenes change
– Evidence is routinely damaged by environmental
conditions
– Computer devices slowly deteriorate
• Keep proof of integrity and timestamp the
evidence through encryption of files of data
– Two algorithms (MD5 and SHA-1) are in common
use today

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 Analysis

• Use any well known analysis tools.

• Make two backups

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 Data Hiding
• There are several techniques that intruders may
hide data.
– Obfuscating data through encryption and
compression.
– Hiding through codes, steganoraphy, deleted files,
slack space, and bad sectors.
– Blinding investigators through changing behavior of
system commands and modifying operating systems.
• Use commonly known tools to overcome

Kizza - Guide54
 Network Forensics
• Unlike computer forensics that retrieves information from the computer’s
disks, network forensics, in addition retrieves information on which network
ports were used to access the network.
• There are several differences that separate the two including the following:
– Unlike computer forensics where the investigator and the person being
investigated, in many cases the criminal, are on two different levels with the
investigator supposedly on a higher level of knowledge of the system, the
network investigator and the adversary are at the same skills level.
– In many cases, the investigator and the adversary use the same tools: one to
cause the incident, the other to investigate the incident. In fact many of the
network security tools on the market today, including NetScanTools Pro,
Tracroute, and Port Probe used to gain information on the network
configurations, can be used by both the investigator and the criminal.
– While computer forensics, deals with the extraction, preservation, identification,
documentation, and analysis, and it still follows well-defined procedures
springing from law enforcement for acquiring, providing chain-of-custody,
authenticating, and interpretation, network forensics on the other hand has
nothing to investigate unless steps were in place ( like packet filters, firewalls,
and intrusion detection systems) prior to the incident.

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 Network Forensics Intrusion
Analysis
• Network intrusions can be difficult to detect let alone
analyze. A port scan can take place without a quick
detection, and more seriously a stealthy attack to a
crucial system resource may be hidden by a simple
innocent port scan.
• So the purpose of intrusion analysis is to seek answers
to the following questions:
– Who gained entry?
– Where did they go? 56
– How did they do it?

Kizza - Guide
 Damage Analysis

• It is difficult to effectively assess damage caused

by system attacks.
• It provides a trove of badly needed information
showing how widespread the damage was, who
was affected and to what extent.

Kizza - Guide57
• To achieve a detailed report of an intrusion
detection, the investigator must carry out a post
mortem of the system by analyzing and
examining the following:
– System registry, memory, and caches. To achieve
this, the investogator can use dd for Linux and Unx
sytems.
– Network state to access computer networks
accesses and connections. Here Netstat can be used.
– Current running processes to access the number of
active processes. Use ps for both Unix and Linux.
– Data acquisition of all unencrypted data. This can be
done using MD5 and SHA-1 on all files and
directories. Then store this data in a secure place.

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 Forensic Electronic Toolkit
• Computer and network forensics involves and requires:
– Identification
– Extraction
– Preservation
– Documentation
• A lot of tools are needed for a thorough work
• The “forensically sound “ method is never to conduct any
examination on the original media.
• Before you use any forensic software, make sure you know how to
use it, and also that it works.
• Tools:
– Hard Drive - use partitioning and viewing ( Partinfo and PartitionMagic)
– File Viewers – to thumb through stacks of data and images looking for
incriminating or relevant evidence (Qiuckview Plus, Conversion Plus,
DataViz, ThumnsPlus)

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 More tools (cont.)
• Unerase – if the files are no longer in the recycle bin or you are dealing with
old systems without recycle bins.
• CD-R/W – examine them as carefully as possible. Use CD-R Diagnostics
• Text – because text data can be huge, use fast scans tools like dtSearch.
• Other kits:
– Forensic toolkit – command-line utilities used to reconstruct access
activities in NT File systems
– Coroner toolkit - to investigate a hacked Unix host.
– ForensiX – an all-purpose set of data collection and analysis tools that
run primarily on Linux.
– New Technologies Incorporated (NTI)
– EnCase
– Hardware- Forensic-computers.com

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Guide to Computer Forensics
and Investigations
Fourth Edition

Chapter 5
Processing Crime and Incident
Scenes
 Objectives

• Explain the rules for digital evidence

• Describe how to collect evidence at private-sector
incident scenes
• Explain guidelines for processing law enforcement
crime scenes
• List the steps in preparing for an evidence search
• Describe how to secure a computer incident or
crime scene
 Objectives (continued)

• Explain guidelines for seizing digital evidence at

the scene
• List procedures for storing digital evidence
• Explain how to obtain a digital hash
• Review a case to identify requirements and plan
your investigation
Identifying Digital Evidence
 Identifying Digital Evidence

• Digital evidence
– Can be any information stored or transmitted in
digital form
• U.S. courts accept digital evidence as physical
evidence
– Digital data is a tangible object
• Some require that all digital evidence be printed out
to be presented in court
 Identifying Digital Evidence
(continued)

• General tasks investigators perform when working

with digital evidence:
– Identify digital information or artifacts that can be
used as evidence
– Collect, preserve, and document evidence
– Analyze, identify, and organize evidence
– Rebuild evidence or repeat a situation to verify that
the results can be reproduced reliably
• Collecting computers and processing a criminal or
incident scene must be done systematically
 Understanding Rules of Evidence

• Consistent practices help verify your work and

enhance your credibility
• Comply with your state’s rules of evidence or with
the Federal Rules of Evidence
• Evidence admitted in a criminal case can be used
in a civil suit, and vice versa
• Keep current on the latest rulings and directives on
collecting, processing, storing, and admitting digital
evidence
 Understanding Rules of Evidence
(continued)

• Data you discover from a forensic examination falls

under your state’s rules of evidence
– Or the Federal Rules of Evidence
• Digital evidence is unlike other physical evidence
because it can be changed more easily
– The only way to detect these changes is to compare
the original data with a duplicate
• Most federal courts have interpreted computer
records as hearsay evidence
– Hearsay is secondhand or indirect evidence
 Understanding Rules of Evidence
(continued)

• Business-record exception
– Allows “records of regularly conducted activity,” such
as business memos, reports, records, or data
compilations
• Generally, computer records are considered
admissible if they qualify as a business record
• Computer records are usually divided into:
– Computer-generated records
– Computer-stored records
 Understanding Rules of Evidence
(continued)

• Computer records must be shown to be authentic

and trustworthy
– To be admitted into court
• Computer-generated records are considered
authentic
– If the program that created the output is functioning
correctly
• Collecting evidence according to the proper steps
of evidence control helps ensure that the computer
evidence is authentic
 Understanding Rules of Evidence
(continued)

• When attorneys challenge digital evidence

– Often they raise the issue of whether computer-
generated records were altered
• Or damaged after they were created
• One test to prove that computer-stored records are
authentic is to demonstrate that a specific person
created the records
– The author of a Microsoft Word document can be
identified by using file metadata
 Demo: Metadata in FTK

• Save a Word document

• In FTK:
– Click No, OK, OK through the demo warning boxes
– Go directly to working with program
– File, Add Evidence
– Enter your name, Next, Next
– Click "Add Evidence" button
– Click "Individual File", Continue
– Navigate to Word document,double-click it
– OK, Next, Continue
 FTK Demo

• In "File Category", click the Documents button

• Select the document in the lower pane
• "View files in native format" shows the text typed
into the Word document
• "View files in filtered text format" shows the
metadata, such as the registered owner of the
program
 Understanding Rules of Evidence
(continued)

• The process of establishing digital evidence’s

trustworthiness originated with written documents
and the best evidence rule
• Best evidence rule states:
– To prove the content of a written document,
recording, or photograph, ordinarily the original
writing, recording, or photograph is required
 Understanding Rules of Evidence
(continued)

• Federal Rules of Evidence

– Allow a duplicate instead of originals when it is
"produced by the same impression as the original …
by mechanical or electronic re- recording … or by
other equivalent techniques which accurately
reproduce the original."
• As long as bit-stream copies of data are created
and maintained properly
– The copies can be admitted in court, although they
aren’t considered best evidence
 When a Copy is All You Have

• If the hard drive crashes after you make the copy

• If removing the original computers is not possible,
because it would cause harm to a business or its
owner, who might be an innocent bystander
– Steve Jackson Games was harmed in this manner
when the Secret Service seized all computers
because BBS users placed evidence of a crime on
them
– The company sued and won (link Ch 5a)
Collecting Evidence in Private-
Sector Incident Scenes
 Collecting Evidence in Private-Sector
Incident Scenes

• Private-sector organizations include:

– Businesses and government agencies that aren’t
involved in law enforcement
• Agencies must comply with state public disclosure
and federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
laws
– And make certain documents available as public
records
• FOIA allows citizens to request copies of public
documents created by federal agencies
 Collecting Evidence in Private-Sector
Incident Scenes (continued)

• A special category of private-sector businesses

includes ISPs and other communication companies
• ISPs can investigate computer abuse committed by
their employees, but not by customers
– Except for activities that are deemed to create an
emergency situation
• Investigating and controlling computer incident
scenes in the corporate environment
– Much easier than in the criminal environment
– Incident scene is often a workplace
 Collecting Evidence in Private-Sector
Incident Scenes (continued)

• Typically, businesses have inventory databases of

computer hardware and software
– Help identify the computer forensics tools needed to
analyze a policy violation
• And the best way to conduct the analysis
• Corporate policy statement about misuse of
computing assets
– Allows corporate investigators to conduct covert
surveillance with little or no cause
– And access company systems without a warrant
 Collecting Evidence in Private-Sector
Incident Scenes (continued)

• Companies should display a warning banner or

publish a policy, or both
– Stating that they reserve the right to inspect
computing assets at will
• Corporate investigators should know under what
circumstances they can examine an employee’s
computer
– Every organization must have a well-defined process
describing when an investigation can be initiated
 Collecting Evidence in Private-Sector
Incident Scenes (continued)

• If a corporate investigator finds that an employee is

committing or has committed a crime
– Employer can file a criminal complaint with the police
• Employers are usually interested in enforcing
company policy
– Not seeking out and prosecuting employees
• Corporate investigators are, therefore, primarily
concerned with protecting company assets
 Collecting Evidence in Private-Sector
Incident Scenes (continued)

• If you discover evidence of a crime during a

company policy investigation
– Determine whether the incident meets the elements
of criminal law
– Inform management of the incident
– Stop your investigation to make sure you don’t
violate Fourth Amendment restrictions on obtaining
evidence
– Work with the corporate attorney to write an affidavit
confirming your findings
 Becoming an Agent of Law
Enforcement

• If law enforcement officers ask you to find more

information, you are at legal risk
– Don’t do any further investigation until you receive a
subpoena or court order
Processing Law Enforcement
Crime Scenes
 Processing Law Enforcement Crime
Scenes

• You must be familiar with criminal rules of search

and seizure
• You should also understand how a search warrant
works and what to do when you process one
• Law enforcement officer may search for and seize
criminal evidence only with probable cause
– Facts or circumstances that lead a reasonable
person to believe a crime has been committed or is
about to be committed
 Processing Law Enforcement Crime
Scenes (continued)

• With probable cause, a police officer can obtain a

search warrant from a judge
– That authorizes a search and seizure of specific
evidence related to the criminal complaint
• The Fourth Amendment states that only warrants
“particularly describing the place to be searched,
and the persons or things to be seized” can be
issued
 Understanding Concepts and Terms
Used in Warrants

• Innocent information
– Unrelated information
– Often included with the evidence you’re trying to
recover
• Judges often issue a limiting phrase to the
warrant
– Allows the police to separate innocent information
from evidence
 Understanding Concepts and Terms
Used in Warrants (continued)

• Plain view doctrine

– Objects falling in plain view of an officer who has the
right to be in position to have that view
• Are subject to seizure without a warrant and may be
introduced in evidence
• “Knock and announce”
– With few exceptions, warrants require that officers
knock and announce their identity
• When executing a warrant
Preparing for a Search
 Preparing for a Search

• Preparing for a computer search and seizure

– Probably the most important step in computing
investigations
• To perform these tasks
– You might need to get answers from the victim and
an informant
• Who could be a police detective assigned to the case,
a law enforcement witness, or a manager or coworker
of the person of interest to the investigation
 Identifying the Nature of the Case

• When you’re assigned a computing investigation

case
– Start by identifying the nature of the case
• Including whether it involves the private or public
sector
• The nature of the case dictates how you proceed
– And what types of assets or resources you need to
use in the investigation
 Identifying the Type of Computing
System

• For law enforcement

– This step might be difficult because the crime scene
isn’t controlled
• If you can identify the computing system
– Estimate the size of the drive on the suspect’s
computer
• And how many computers to process at the scene
• Determine which OSs and hardware are involved
Determining Whether You Can Seize a
Computer

• The type of case and location of the evidence

– Determine whether you can remove computers
• Law enforcement investigators need a warrant to
remove computers from a crime scene
– And transport them to a lab
• If removing the computers will irreparably harm a
business
– The computers should not be taken offsite
Determining Whether You Can Seize a
Computer (continued)

• An additional complication is files stored offsite that

are accessed remotely
• If you aren’t allowed to take the computers to your
lab
– Determine the resources you need to acquire digital
evidence and which tools can speed data acquisition
 Obtaining a Detailed Description of
the Location

• Get as much information as you can

• Identify potential hazards
– Interact with your HAZMAT team
• HAZMAT guidelines
– A HAZMAT technician may need to acquire the image,
following your instructions
– You may need to put the target drive in a special
HAZMAT bag
– HAZMAT technician can decontaminate the bag
– Check for high temperatures
 Determining Who Is in Charge

• Corporate computing investigations

– Require only one person to respond
• Law enforcement agencies
– Handle large-scale investigations
– Designate lead investigators
 Using Additional Technical Expertise

• Look for specialists

– OSs
– RAID servers
– Databases
• Finding the right person can be a challenge
• Educate specialists in investigative techniques
– Prevent evidence damage
 Determining the Tools You Need

• Prepare tools using incident and crime scene

information
• Initial-response field kit
– Lightweight
– Easy to transport
• Extensive-response field kit
– Includes all tools you can afford
 Preparing the Investigation Team

• Review facts, plans, and objectives with the

investigation team you have assembled
• Goals of scene processing
– Collect evidence
– Secure evidence
• Slow response can cause digital evidence to be
lost
Securing a Computer Incident or
Crime Scene
 Securing a Computer Incident or
Crime Scene
• Goals
– Preserve the evidence
– Keep information confidential
• Define a secure perimeter
– Use yellow barrier tape
– Legal authority: keep unnecessary people out but don’t
obstruct justice or fail to comply with police officers
• Professional curiosity can destroy evidence
– Involves police officers and other professionals who
aren’t part of the crime scene processing team
Seizing Digital Evidence at the
Scene
 Seizing Digital Evidence at the Scene

• Law enforcement can seize evidence

– With a proper warrant
• Corporate investigators rarely can seize evidence
• When seizing computer evidence in criminal
investigations
– Follow U.S. DoJ standards for seizing digital data
• Civil investigations follow same rules
– Require less documentation though
• Consult with your attorney for extra guidelines
 Preparing to Acquire Digital Evidence

• The evidence you acquire at the scene depends on

the nature of the case
– And the alleged crime or violation
• Ask your supervisor or senior forensics examiner in
your organization the following questions:
– Do you need to take the entire computer and all
peripherals and media in the immediate area?
– How are you going to protect the computer and
media while transporting them to your lab?
– Is the computer powered on when you arrive?
 Preparing to Acquire Digital Evidence
(continued)

• Ask your supervisor or senior forensics examiner in

your organization the following questions
(continued):
– Is the suspect you’re investigating in the immediate
area of the computer?
– Is it possible the suspect damaged or destroyed the
computer, peripherals, or media?
– Will you have to separate the suspect from the
computer?
 Processing an Incident or Crime
Scene
• Guidelines
– Keep a journal to document your activities
– Secure the scene
• Be professional and courteous with onlookers
• Remove people who are not part of the investigation
– Take video and still recordings of the area around the
computer
• Pay attention to details
– Sketch the incident or crime scene
– Check computers as soon as possible
 Handling a Running Computer

• Old rule: pull the plug

– Don’t cut electrical power to a running system unless
it’s an older Windows 9x or MS-DOS system
• Perform a live acquisition if possible
• When shutting down Win XP or later, or Linux/Unix,
perform a normal shutdown, to preserve log files
• Save data from current applications as safely as
possible
• Record all active windows or shell sessions
• Photograph the screen
 Handling a Running Computer

– Make notes of everything you do when copying data

from a live suspect computer
– Save open files to an external hard drive or a
network share
• If that is not possible, save them with new names
– Close applications and shut down the computer
 Processing an Incident or Crime
Scene (continued)

• Guidelines (continued)
– Bag and tag the evidence, following these steps:
• Assign one person to collect and log all evidence
• Tag all evidence you collect with the current date and
time, serial numbers or unique features, make and
model, and the name of the person who collected it
• Maintain two separate logs of collected evidence
• Maintain constant control of the collected evidence
and the crime or incident scene
 Processing an Incident or Crime
Scene (continued)

• Guidelines (continued)
– Look for information related to the investigation
• Passwords, passphrases, PINs, bank accounts
• Look at papers, in drawers, in trash cans
– Collect documentation and media related to the
investigation
• Hardware, software, backup media, documentation,
manuals
 Processing Data Centers with RAID
Systems

• Sparse acquisition
– Technique for extracting evidence from large
systems
– Extracts only data related to evidence for your case
from allocated files
• And minimizes how much data you need to analyze
• Drawback of this technique
– It doesn’t recover data in free or slack space
 Using a Technical Advisor

• Technical advisor
– Can help you list the tools you need to process the
incident or crime scene
– Person guiding you about where to locate data and
helping you extract log records
• Or other evidence from large RAID servers
– Can help create the search warrant by itemizing
what you need for the warrant
 Technical Advisor Responsibilities

• Know aspects of the seized system

• Direct investigator handling sensitive material
• Help secure the scene
• Help document the planning strategy for search
and seizure
• Conduct ad hoc trainings
• Document activities
• Help conduct the search and seizure
 Documenting Evidence in the Lab

• Record your activities and findings as you work

– Maintain a journal to record the steps you take as
you process evidence
• Goal is to be able to reproduce the same results
– When you or another investigator repeat the steps
you took to collect evidence
• A journal serves as a reference that documents the
methods you used to process digital evidence
 Processing and Handling Digital
Evidence

• Maintain the integrity of digital evidence in the lab

– As you do when collecting it in the field
• Steps to create image files:
– Copy all image files to a large drive
– Start your forensics tool to analyze the evidence
– Run an MD5 or SHA-1 hashing algorithm on the
image files to get a digital hash
– Secure the original media in an evidence locker
Storing Digital Evidence
 Storing Digital Evidence
• The media you use to store digital evidence usually
depends on how long you need to keep it
• CD-Rs or DVDs
– The ideal media
– Capacity: up to 17 GB
– Lifespan: 2 to 5 years
• Magnetic tapes
– Capacity: 40 to 72 GB
– Lifespan: 30 years
– Costs: drive: $400 to $800; tape: $40
Storing Digital Evidence (continued)
 Evidence Retention and Media
Storage Needs

• To help maintain the chain of custody for digital

evidence
– Restrict access to lab and evidence storage area
• Lab should have a sign-in roster for all visitors
– Maintain logs for a period based on legal
requirements
• You might need to retain evidence indefinitely
– Check with your local prosecuting attorney’s office or
state laws to make sure you’re in compliance
– You cannot retain child pornography evidence,
however
Evidence Retention and Media
Storage Needs (continued)
 Documenting Evidence

• Create or use an evidence custody form

• An evidence custody form serves the following
functions:
– Identifies the evidence
– Identifies who has handled the evidence
– Lists dates and times the evidence was handled
• You can add more information to your form
– Such as a section listing MD5 and SHA-1 hash
values
 Documenting Evidence (continued)

• Include any detailed information you might need to

reference
• Evidence bags also include labels or evidence
forms you can use to document your evidence
Obtaining a Digital Hash
 Obtaining a Digital Hash

• Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC)

– Mathematical algorithm that determines whether a
file’s contents have changed
– Most recent version is CRC-32
– Not considered a forensic hashing algorithm
• Message Digest 5 (MD5)
– Mathematical formula that translates a file into a
hexadecimal code value, or a hash value
– If a bit or byte in the file changes, it alters the digital
hash
 Obtaining a Digital Hash (continued)

• Three rules for forensic hashes:

– You can’t predict the hash value of a file or device
– No two hash values can be the same
– If anything changes in the file or device, the hash
value must change
• Secure Hash Algorithm version 1 (SHA-1)
– A newer hashing algorithm
– Developed by the National Institute of Standards
and Technology (NIST)
 Obtaining a Digital Hash (continued)

• In both MD5 and SHA-1, collisions have occurred

• Most computer forensics hashing needs can be
satisfied with a nonkeyed hash set
– A unique hash number generated by a software tool,
such as the Linux md5sum command
• Keyed hash set
– Created by an encryption utility’s secret key
• You can use the MD5 function in FTK Imager to
obtain the digital signature of a file
– Or an entire drive
Obtaining a Digital Hash (continued)
Reviewing a Case
 Reviewing a Case

• General tasks you perform in any computer

forensics case:
– Identify the case requirements
– Plan your investigation
– Conduct the investigation
– Complete the case report
– Critique the case
 Sample Civil Investigation

• Most cases in the corporate environment are

considered low-level investigations
– Or noncriminal cases
• Common activities and practices
– Recover specific evidence
• Suspect’s Outlook e-mail folder (PST file)
– Covert surveillance
• Its use must be well defined in the company policy
• Risk of civil or criminal liability
– Sniffing tools for data transmissions
 Covert Surveillance Tools

• Spector
• WinWhatWhere
• EnCase Enterprise Edition
 Sample Criminal Investigation

• Computer crimes examples

– Fraud
– Check fraud
– Homicides
• Need a warrant to start seizing evidence
– Limit searching area
Sample Criminal Investigation
(continued)
Reviewing Background Information for
a Case

• Company called Superior Bicycles

– Specializes in creating new and inventive modes of
human-driven transportation
• Two employees, Chris Murphy and Nau Tjeriko,
have been missing for several days
• A USB thumb drive has been recovered from
Chris’s office with evidence that he had been
conducting a side business using company
computers
 Identifying the Case Requirements

• Identify requirements such as:

– Nature of the case
– Suspect’s name
– Suspect’s activity
– Suspect’s hardware and software specifications
 Planning Your Investigation

• List what you can assume or know

– Several incidents may or may not be related
– Suspect’s computer can contain information about
the case
– If someone else has used suspect’s computer
• Make an image of suspect’s computer disk drive
• Analyze forensics copy
 Conducting the Investigation:
Acquiring Evidence with AccessData
FTK
• Functions
– Extract the image from a bit-stream image file
– Analyze the image
 Conducting the Investigation:
Acquiring Evidence with AccessData
FTK (continued)
 Conducting the Investigation:
Acquiring Evidence with AccessData
FTK (continued)
 Conducting the Investigation:
Acquiring Evidence with AccessData
FTK (continued)