Book Image

Digital Forensics with Kali Linux - Third Edition

By : Shiva V. N. Parasram
Book Image

Digital Forensics with Kali Linux - Third Edition

By: Shiva V. N. Parasram

Overview of this book

Kali Linux is a Linux-based distribution that's widely used for penetration testing and digital forensics. This third edition is updated with real-world examples and detailed labs to help you take your investigation skills to the next level using powerful tools. This new edition will help you explore modern techniques for analysis, extraction, and reporting using advanced tools such as FTK Imager, Hex Editor, and Axiom. You’ll cover the basics and advanced areas of digital forensics within the world of modern forensics while delving into the domain of operating systems. As you advance through the chapters, you'll explore various formats for file storage, including secret hiding places unseen by the end user or even the operating system. You’ll also discover how to install Windows Emulator, Autopsy 4 in Kali, and how to use Nmap and NetDiscover to find device types and hosts on a network, along with creating forensic images of data and maintaining integrity using hashing tools. Finally, you'll cover advanced topics such as autopsies and acquiring investigation data from networks, memory, and operating systems. By the end of this digital forensics book, you'll have gained hands-on experience in implementing all the pillars of digital forensics: acquisition, extraction, analysis, and presentation – all using Kali Linux's cutting-edge tools.
Table of Contents (24 chapters)
1
Part 1: Blue and Purple Teaming Fundamentals
7
Part 2: Digital Forensics and Incident Response Fundamentals and Best Practices
10
Part 3: Kali Linux Digital Forensics and Incident Response Tools
15
Part 4: Automated Digital Forensics and Incident Response Suites
18
Part 5: Network Forensic Analysis Tools

Live versus post-mortem acquisition

In this section, we’ll look at the different procedures for live and post-mortem evidence acquisition. However, before we begin, first, we must understand the order of volatility.

Order of volatility

When collecting evidence, we should keep in mind the volatility of data. As mentioned earlier in this chapter, data can be easily lost or destroyed. As such, when collecting data, a well-documented and common best practice is to collect evidence in the order of most volatile to the least volatile if possible.

The Scientific Working Group on Digital Evidence (SWGDE) capture live systems document and lists the order of volatility from most to least volatile and crucial, as follows:

  • RAM
  • Running processes
  • Active network connections
  • System settings
  • Storage media

Powered-on versus powered-off device acquisition

When investigating devices that are powered on and powered off, special consideration must be given...