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Teaching Digital Forensics w/Virtuals. By Amelia Phillips. Teaching Digital Forensics – Incorporating Virtualization. Agenda. Overview of VMs Finding a VM Proper Procedure Imaging a VM Analysis of a VM Restoring an image to a VM. Overview of VMs. “Oh, use a virtual!” - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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Teaching Digital Forensics w/Virtuals
By Amelia Phillips
Teaching Digital Forensics – Incorporating Virtualization
AgendaOverview of VMsFinding a VMProper ProcedureImaging a VMAnalysis of a VMRestoring an image to a VM
Overview of VMs
“Oh, use a virtual!”What does this really mean?Why is it so popular?
Use of Virtual Machines
VMs allow you to run multiple operating systems on the same physical box
With high capacity servers High RAMQuad-core or higher20 or more OS can run on the same box
Use of Virtual Machines(2)
Cut down on equipment costEase of maintenanceEasy to backup, clone and restoreEasy to deleteEasy to createHave legacy systems and modern
systems on same network
Use of VMs in Class
Easy to teach legacy systemsRelatively easy to assemble
networksCut down on the number of physical
machines
Most Popular VM Software
VMWareServerWorkstationPlayer
Virtual BoxVirtual PCMany others listed on wikipedia
Criminal or Covert Use of VMs
Attack networksInsider access to sensitive filesErase evidenceHard to track
Proper Procedure
Forensically sound approachDocument everythingNew technology produces new
challengesLive acquisitionsVMs
Proper Procedure (2)
VMs are located on other physical boxes
Your search begins with someone’sOffice computerPersonal laptopMobile deviceUSB or other portable drive
Proper Procedure (3)
Seize the evidencePerform a forensic image of the
physical driveBegin the analysis
Find the VM
Check the MRUExamine the Registry
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT see if the vmdk extension (or similar) has an association
Check the My Virtual Machines folderLook for .lnk files that point to a VM
Find the VM (2)
Examine the Network logsLook for a VMWare network adaptor
ipconfig or ifconfig
See what has been connected to the machine such as a USB
Find the VM (3)
The VM may have been deletedBe sure to examine the host drive to
see if the file(s) can be retrievedExport any relevant files
Examining the VM
Note there may be shared files or folders on the host machine
Examine the Log filesOpen the Cengage2010VM folderNote how many machines this VM
was opened on and their names
VMWare files
*.vmdk – the actual hard drive for the VM
*.nvram – the BIOS info *.vmx – the configuration file
Preview VM
Note Files of interest
Imaging a VM
The easiest tool is FTK ImagerVery similar to imaging a standard
physical driveLaunch FTK ImagerClick, File, Create Disk Image
Select the vmdk file
Click Add
Select Raw(dd)
Fill in the prior dialog box with your information.
Select the destination folder and indicate a filename. Be sure to put in 0 for no fragmentation
Verify Results
Analyzing the VM
Load the forensic image into the software of your choice
For ease of demonstration, launch the Forensic Toolkit
Click through any messages regarding KFF and dongle not found
Using FTK
Start a new caseUse all the defaults, plus data
carving and fill in your informationAt the add evidence, select the file
we just created
Analyzing the VM
Click Next and FinishOnce the drive has been processed,
proceed as normal with your analysis
Be sure to look at the registry
USING THE VM AS YOUR FORENSIC TOOL
Examining Malware, etcMany times software on a drive is not
readily available for downloadMalware may be present that you
want to testYou, as the investigator, want to test
itForensic procedure must dictate what
you do next
Launch a VM
Use the forensic image of the vmdk (or equivalent), not the original file
Some forensic tools such as EnCase require mounting the drive
Other tools, such as ProDiscover, will prepare the files for you
Using ProDiscover
Creating VM files
Procedure
Be sure to record the hash values of all files created
Be sure to document everything that you do
This is new territory – not proven by case law
Advantages of using VM
“clean box” every timeErase changes made to driveCan load a verified image every time
Conclusion
Virtual machines do offer some challenges
Knowledge of how to mount them for examination in a VM application is needed
Quirks when doing the actual drive image
References
Virtual Forensics, by Shavers, Brett, 2009, white paper
Guide to Computer Forensics and Investigations, by Nelson, Bill; Phillips, Amelia; and Steuart, Chris, 2010, Course Technology
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