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CS0-003 · Question #106

A security analyst needs to provide a copy of a hard drive for forensic analysis. Which of the following would allow the analyst to perform the task?

The correct answer is B. dd if=/dev/sda of=/mnt/usb/evidence.bin bs=4096; sha5l2sum /mnt/usb/evidence.bin >. To provide a forensic copy of a hard drive, an analyst needs a command that creates a bit-for-bit image and verifies its integrity.

Submitted by ashley.k· Mar 6, 2026Incident Response and Management

Question

A security analyst needs to provide a copy of a hard drive for forensic analysis. Which of the following would allow the analyst to perform the task?

Options

  • Adcfldd if=/dev/one of=/mnt/usb/evidence.bin hash=md5, sha1
  • Bdd if=/dev/sda of=/mnt/usb/evidence.bin bs=4096; sha5l2sum /mnt/usb/evidence.bin >
  • Ctar -zcf /mnt/usb/evidence.tar.gz / -except /mnt; sha256sum /mnt/usb/evidence.tar.gz >
  • Dfind / -type f -exec cp {} /mnt/usb/evidence/ ; sha1sum /mnt/usb/evidence/* >

How the community answered

(26 responses)
  • B
    92% (24)
  • C
    4% (1)
  • D
    4% (1)

Why each option

To provide a forensic copy of a hard drive, an analyst needs a command that creates a bit-for-bit image and verifies its integrity.

Adcfldd if=/dev/one of=/mnt/usb/evidence.bin hash=md5, sha1

While `dcfldd` is a forensic tool, `if=/dev/one` is an incorrect or non-standard device path for a hard drive, making the command invalid.

Bdd if=/dev/sda of=/mnt/usb/evidence.bin bs=4096; sha5l2sum /mnt/usb/evidence.bin >Correct

The `dd` command is used to create a bit-for-bit, raw image of a hard drive (`if=/dev/sda` for input, `of=/mnt/usb/evidence.bin` for output), preserving all data including deleted files and slack space. The subsequent `sha512sum` command generates a cryptographic hash of the image, crucial for verifying the integrity and authenticity of the forensic copy.

Ctar -zcf /mnt/usb/evidence.tar.gz / -except /mnt; sha256sum /mnt/usb/evidence.tar.gz >

The `tar` command archives files and directories, but it does not create a bit-for-bit forensic image of a raw disk or partition, which is essential for preserving all forensic artifacts.

Dfind / -type f -exec cp {} /mnt/usb/evidence/ \; sha1sum /mnt/usb/evidence/* >

Using `find` and `cp` copies individual files, missing deleted data, file system metadata, and other raw disk structures vital for comprehensive forensic analysis.

Concept tested: Forensic imaging and integrity verification

Source: https://man7.org/linux/man-pages/man1/dd.1.html

Topics

#Digital forensics#Disk imaging#dd command#Evidence collection

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