CAS-002 · Question #874
In a situation where data is to be recovered from an attacker's location, which of the following are the FIRST things to capture? (Select TWO).
The correct answer is C. Snapshots of data on the monitor E. Volatile system memory. Digital forensics follows the order of volatility, requiring investigators to capture the most transient data first before it is permanently lost.
Question
In a situation where data is to be recovered from an attacker's location, which of the following are the FIRST things to capture? (Select TWO).
Options
- ARemovable media
- BPasswords written on scrap paper
- CSnapshots of data on the monitor
- DDocuments on the printer
- EVolatile system memory
- FSystem hard drive
How the community answered
(20 responses)- A5% (1)
- C85% (17)
- D10% (2)
Why each option
Digital forensics follows the order of volatility, requiring investigators to capture the most transient data first before it is permanently lost.
Removable media is non-volatile storage that retains data without power and can be collected safely after more volatile evidence is secured.
Passwords written on paper are stable physical artifacts that will not change or disappear due to system state changes, so they are lower priority than volatile digital evidence.
Data visible on the monitor reflects the current live system state and can change instantly if the suspect interacts with the system, making an immediate screenshot or photograph critical before any other action is taken.
Documents on the printer are stable physical items that can be collected after volatile digital evidence without risk of data loss.
Volatile system memory (RAM) contains ephemeral forensic artifacts such as running processes, active network connections, decryption keys, and session data that are permanently destroyed when the system is powered off, placing it at the top of the order-of-volatility capture sequence.
The system hard drive is non-volatile persistent storage and is imaged after volatile memory and on-screen data per the standard order of volatility.
Concept tested: Digital forensics order of volatility
Source: https://www.nist.gov/publications/guide-integrating-forensic-techniques-incident-response
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