A local government that is investigating a data exfiltration claim was asked to review the fingerprint of the malicious user's actions. An investigator took a forensic image of the VM and downloaded…

Encryption in transit primarily refers to data transmitted over a network, whereas the question describes a physical transfer via a USB drive.

Legal issues are a broad consideration, but chain of custody is the specific procedural aspect directly ensuring the integrity and admissibility of evidence for legal purposes.

Chain of custody is paramount when transferring forensic evidence, as it documents every person who has had possession of the evidence, the dates and times of transfer, and the purpose, ensuring the integrity and admissibility of the evidence in legal proceedings.

Order of volatility relates to the sequence of data collection during the *acquisition* phase of forensics, not the *release* of evidence.

Key exchange is a cryptographic process for sharing encryption keys, which might be relevant for an encrypted drive, but it's secondary to the overarching chain of custody for evidence transfer.