Digital-Forensics-in-Cybersecurity Digital Forensics in Cybersecurity (D431/C840DQO1) Course Exam Questions and Answers

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

The Chain of Custody (CoC) is the documented and unbroken transfer record of evidence handling, from seizure to presentation in court. It ensures that the evidence has been preserved, controlled, and protected from tampering or alteration.

Evidence record documents evidence details but is less formal than CoC.

Event log and audit log are system-generated records and do not replace the formal CoC.

CoC is a fundamental forensic principle as outlined by NIST SP 800-86 and the Scientific Working Group on Digital Evidence (SWGDE) best practices, ensuring evidence admissibility and reliability in legal proceedings.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

Steganography is the technique of hiding information within another file, message, image, or medium to conceal the existence of the information itself. It differs from encryption in that the data is hidden, not just scrambled.

Steganalysis is the detection or analysis of hidden data.

Encryption and cryptography involve scrambling data but do not inherently hide its existence.

NIST and digital forensics guidelines define steganography as the art of concealed writing or data hiding, used by criminals to evade detection.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

Before any action on evidence, especially when seizing or processing digital devices, the forensic specialist must first carefully review and document the chain of custody (CoC) to ensure proper handling and legal compliance. This includes verifying seizure procedures and documenting the status of the device before any interaction.

Turning the computer on prematurely risks altering or destroying volatile data.

Making a forensic copy (imaging) can only happen after proper documentation and preservation steps.

Photographing the desktop is relevant only after power-on but only if approved and documented.

This process aligns with NIST guidelines (SP 800-86) and the Scientific Working Group on Digital Evidence (SWGDE) principles emphasizing preservation and documentation as foundational steps.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

Before connecting an iPhone to a forensic workstation, the investigator must ensure that the phone doesnotsync with the computer automatically. Automatic syncing may alter, delete, or overwrite evidence stored on the device or the computer, compromising forensic integrity.

Jailbreak mode is not necessary and can complicate forensic analysis.

Powering off the device prevents acquisition of volatile data.

Root privileges (jailbreak) may aid access but are not mandatory before connection.

NIST mobile device forensic guidelines emphasize disabling automatic sync to preserve data integrity during acquisition.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

Forensic Toolkit (FTK) is a comprehensive forensic suite capable of acquiring bit-by-bit images from various devices, including Windows Phone 8, by supporting physical and logical extractions. FTK is widely accepted and used for mobile device forensic imaging.

Data Doctor is primarily a data recovery tool, not specialized for mobile forensic imaging.

Pwnage is related to jailbreaking iOS devices.

Wolf is not a recognized forensic imaging tool for Windows Phone 8.

NIST mobile device forensic standards cite FTK as a preferred tool for mobile device imaging.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

Snow is a tool that encodes hidden messages using whitespace characters (spaces and tabs), which can be embedded in text and sometimes in image file metadata or formats that allow invisible characters. It is commonly used to hide data in plain sight, including within digital images.

Steganophony focuses on hiding data in VoIP.

Wolf is not recognized as a steganography tool for whitespace.

QuickStego is another tool for text-based steganography but less commonly associated with whitespace specifically.

Forensic and cybersecurity literature often cites Snow as the preferred tool for whitespace-based steganography.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

In steganography, the file that hides secret information is called thecarrier. The carrier file appears normal and contains embedded hidden data (the payload).

Payload refers to the actual secret data hidden inside the carrier.

Snow refers to random noise or artifacts, often in images or files.

Channel refers to the medium or communication path used to transmit data.

Thus,vacationdetails.docis the carrier file containing the hidden information.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

Magnetic hard drives generally have a lower cost per gigabyte compared to solid-state drives (SSDs). However, they are more susceptible to mechanical damage and slower in data access.

SSDs have no moving parts and provide better durability and speed but at a higher price.

Forensics practitioners consider these differences during evidence acquisition.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

TheForwardedEventslog in Windows 7 is specifically designed to store events collected from remote computers via event forwarding. This log is part of the Windows Event Forwarding feature used in enterprise environments to centralize event monitoring.

TheSystemandApplicationlogs store local system and application events.

TheSecuritylog stores local security-related events.

ForwardedEventscollects and stores events forwarded from other machines.

Microsoft documentation and NIST SP 800-86 mention the use of ForwardedEvents for centralized event log collection in investigations.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

The Communications Assistance to Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) mandates telecommunications carriers to assist law enforcement in executing authorized wiretaps, including on Voice over IP (VoIP) calls, ensuring lawful interception capabilities.

CALEA requires built-in surveillance capabilities in communications systems.

It balances privacy rights with law enforcement needs.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

The email messages, including headers and content, contain information about the phishing attempt, such as sender details and embedded links. Analyzing these messages can help trace the source of the scam and determine the method used to deceive the victim.

Email headers provide metadata for tracking the origin.

Forensic examination of emails is fundamental in investigating social engineering and phishing attacks.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

Netstatis a command-line network utility tool used to monitor active network connections, open ports, and network routing tables. In the context of detecting data exfiltration potentially using steganographic methods, netstat can help a forensic investigator identify suspicious or unauthorized network connections through which hidden data may be leaving an organization.

While netstat itself does not detect steganography within files, it can be used to monitor data flows and connections to external hosts, which is critical for identifying channels where steganographically hidden data could be transmitted.

Data Encryption Standard (DES)is a cryptographic algorithm, not a forensic tool.

MP3Stegois a steganography tool for embedding data in MP3 files and is not designed for detection or monitoring.

Forensic Toolkit (FTK)is a forensic analysis software focused on acquiring and analyzing data from storage devices, not network monitoring.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

Steganography is used to save or embed secret data within another file or medium, allowing covert communication without alerting observers to the presence of the data.

The goal is to conceal, not highlight or delete data.

It does not erase or delete secret data; instead, it hides it.

This aligns with standard definitions in cybersecurity and forensic literature including NIST's cybersecurity frameworks.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

The browser cache stores recently accessed web pages, images, and cookies, which may include phishing site content and related activity. Investigators analyzing phishing attacks collect browser cache data to reconstruct the victim’s web activity and detect malicious sites.

Cached web pages help corroborate victim statements and establish timelines.

Browser history and cache are volatile and must be preserved promptly.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

The/etcdirectory on Unix-based systems, including macOS, contains important system configuration files and scripts. It is the standard location for system-wide configuration data.

/varcontains variable data like logs and spool files.

/bincontains essential binary executables.

/cfgis not a standard directory in macOS.

This is standard Unix/Linux directory structure knowledge and is reflected in NIST and forensic references for macOS.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

Mac OS X 10.8 (Mountain Lion) uses the HFS+ (Hierarchical File System Plus) file system by default for its native storage volumes. HFS+ is Apple’s proprietary file system introduced in the late 1990s, designed for macOS.

ReiserFS is a Linux file system.

MFS (Macintosh File System) is an outdated file system replaced by HFS.

NTFS is a Windows file system.

This is well documented in Apple technical specifications and forensic analysis standards for macOS systems.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

The Windows Security Account Manager (SAM) file stores hashed passwords for local Windows user accounts. These hashes are used to authenticate users without storing plaintext passwords.

The SAM file stores local account password hashes, not network passwords.

Passwords are hashed (not encrypted) using algorithms like NTLM or LM hashes.

Network password management occurs elsewhere (e.g., Active Directory).

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

SATA (Serial ATA) refers to an interface standard commonly used for connecting magnetic hard disk drives (HDDs) and solid-state drives (SSDs) to a computer. The term SATA itself describes the connection, but most HDDs that use SATA as an interface are magnetic drives.

CD-ROM and Blu-ray are optical storage media, not magnetic.

SSD (Solid State Drive) uses flash memory, not magnetic storage.

Magnetic drives rely on spinning magnetic platters, which are typically connected via SATA or other interfaces.

This differentiation is emphasized in digital forensic training and hardware documentation, including those from NIST and forensic hardware textbooks.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

On 64-bit versions of Windows operating systems (including Windows 7), 32-bit applications are installed by default into the folderC:\Program Files (x86). This separation allows the OS to distinguish between 64-bit and 32-bit applications and apply appropriate system calls and redirection.

C:\Program Filesis reserved for native 64-bit applications.

C:\ProgramDatacontains application data shared across users.

C:\Windowscontains system files, not program installations.

This structure is documented in Microsoft Windows Internals and Windows Forensics guides, including official NIST guidelines on Windows forensic investigations.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

The CAN-SPAM Act requires that commercial emails include a clear and conspicuous mechanism allowing recipients to opt out of receiving future emails. This opt-out method cannot require payment or additional steps that would discourage recipients.

The act aims to reduce unsolicited commercial emails and spam.

Compliance is critical for lawful email marketing and forensic investigations involving email misuse.