GCFA · Question #17
Peter works as a Technical Representative in a CSIRT for SecureEnet Inc. His team is called to investigate the computer of an employee, who is suspected for classified data theft. Suspect's computer…
The correct answer is D. Volatile data, file slack, file system, registry, memory dumps, system state backup, internet traces. Digital forensic investigation on Windows follows a defined sequence to preserve evidence integrity by collecting the most volatile data first and progressing to more persistent artifacts.
Question
Peter works as a Technical Representative in a CSIRT for SecureEnet Inc. His team is called to investigate the computer of an employee, who is suspected for classified data theft. Suspect's computer runs on Windows operating system. Peter wants to collect data and evidences for further analysis. He knows that in Windows operating system, the data is searched in pre-defined steps for proper and efficient analysis. Which of the following is the correct order for searching data on a Windows based system?
Options
- AVolatile data, file slack, registry, memory dumps, file system, system state backup, internet traces
- BVolatile data, file slack, registry, system state backup, internet traces, file system, memory dumps
- CVolatile data, file slack, internet traces, registry, memory dumps, system state backup, file system
- DVolatile data, file slack, file system, registry, memory dumps, system state backup, internet traces
How the community answered
(42 responses)- A5% (2)
- B7% (3)
- C17% (7)
- D71% (30)
Why each option
Digital forensic investigation on Windows follows a defined sequence to preserve evidence integrity by collecting the most volatile data first and progressing to more persistent artifacts.
This sequence incorrectly places registry before memory dumps and omits the file system as a discrete step between file slack and registry, disrupting the standard evidence collection order.
This sequence places system state backup and internet traces before file system and memory dumps, which violates the accepted Windows forensic collection hierarchy.
This sequence places internet traces before registry and memory dumps, which does not follow the correct order of volatility and evidence priority in Windows forensics.
The sequence starts with volatile data (RAM, running processes) because it is lost on shutdown, then file slack (remnant data in cluster gaps), file system (directory structure and metadata), registry (configuration and activity hives), memory dumps (paging and hibernation files), system state backup, and finally internet traces - this reflects the standard order of volatility and evidence layering used in Windows forensic methodology.
Concept tested: Windows forensic data collection order of volatility
Source: https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/Legacy/SP/nistspecialpublication800-86.pdf
Topics
Community Discussion
No community discussion yet for this question.