Cyber Forensics Tools

Cyber Forensics is also called “Computer Forensics”. It investigates the electronic device and checks if the device is involved in any crime such as sending fake emails, stealing sensitive information, etc. In this article, we will cover a brief explanation of cyber forensic tools that help in the investigation of cyber forensic teams.

What is Cyber Forensics?

It is the investigation techniques that help identify, and collect the data in the electronic device and store it in the form of evidence that is mentioned in the court as proof. The cyber forensic team creates the documentation of the evidence found in the electronic device and checks if their unusual activity going on the device, which they mentioned as proof in court. It recovers lost data from the device and captures the text from the images.

Cyber Forensics Tools

Cyber forensics tools are the helper of cyber forensic teams that help investigate the electronic devices that are involved in crime so that forensic teams mention the proof in court. for example, if a cyber crime happens in the company such as a data loss in a company, or a malware attack then the cyber forensic team investigates all the devices present in the company, and the cyber forensic team mentions the proof in court.

Here are the tools that are helpful for the investigation of cyber forensic teams-

OS Forensics

It is the tool that deeply investigates the computer. It finds all the information on the computer that we need. This tool is helpful for the cyber forensic team to investigate deeply in the computer like the forensic team checking what cybercrime is going on in the device so that they mention the proof in the court as an investigator. Os Forensic is the best tool to search the contents in all the files in any type of file format. It also finds unknown files where the contents do not match the extension.

Advantages of OS forensics

• The speed is fast.
• It provides deep insights into user activities.

Disadvantages of OS forensics

• Some features are complex and require more knowledge and training.
• Some features are costly.

Autopsy

It is an open-source cyber forensic tool. It shows the deleted files and data on our computer. It can run on Windows, Linux, or Mac. It also detects the data of raw files or ASCII Strings. This tool is used in various fields such as corporate investigation, military, law, etc. Cyber forensic teams investigate the data involved in the crime make a digital copy of the evidence and mention it in the court as proof. Also, the cyber forensic team makes the presentation of the evidence found in data analysis. This tool gives 100% accurate results.

Advantages of Autospy

• It extracts the data from raw files and also extracts timestamps and geolocation data.
• It extracts camera information from JPEG or PNG files.
• It provides community support.

Disadvantages of Autospy

• It might be slow when working with complex datasets.
• The performance is slow.

Volatility Framework

It is a tool that extracts the RAM information or memory information. It is implemented in Python. It supports Windows, Mac, or Linux. It works in a command line interface. It is used for malware analysis and investigating cyber attacks. This tool helps work with large data sets. It also supports various types of file formats and extracts the data. It offers efficient algorithms that analyze the RAM dumps from complex data sets without the loss of memory.

Advantages of the Volatility Framework

• It also analyzes the RAM or memory information even computer shuts down.
• It supports various types of file formats.

Disadvantages of the Volatility Framework

• This tool has less number of Graphical user interfaces i.e. GUI options that are challenging for new users.
• It is required to work in the command line interface.

Openstego

It is a tool that extracts the hidden messages present in images, audio files, etc. It is made by the encryption algorithm and provides user-friendly features that are helpful for beginners. It also provides a command line interface for advanced users and its advanced encryption technique is to secure our information or data.

Advantages of Openstego

• It provides user user-friendly interface for beginners.
• Its strong encryption algorithm protects our data or information inside the messages.

Disadvantages of Openstego

• It provides complexity when working with large data to hide the information efficiently.

NetworkMiner

It is a tool that extracts information from networks, email attachments, etc. It performs advanced network traffic analysis to extract the information easily and saves time for the cyber forensic team. This tool is used by many organizations around the world. It tracks the network traffic to check how the attack takes place. Tracking the network traffic helps to analyze the performance issues. This tool also gives the information of hostname, and ports of devices.

Advantages of NetworkMiner

• It extracts information from the network.
• It extracts the information from the browser history.

Disadavtages of NetworkMiner

• The investigation is not suitable for complex networks.
• Decryption is not supported in NetworkMiner.

FTK

FTK stands for a forensic toolkit that provides advanced data analysis. It provides features to recover passwords, decrypt files and analyze the network data. FTkK provides the mechanism of verification and validation that verifies and validates the data. FTK also can recover lost or deleted data, and files in our system. FTK integrates with another cyber forensic tool to speed up the investigation and analysis.

Advantages of FTK

• It provides flexibility to support various file formats.
• It provides community support. so that investigation is going fast.

Disadvantages of FTK

• The cost is higher for premium features.
• There is no support for scripting features.

Paladin Forensic Suite

This tool is used for the recovery of data. It is a Linux-based software platform. It recovers the evidence that investigates cyber forensic teams. This tool is based on Ubuntu. Paladin supports 32-bit and 64-bit versions. The good thing about Paladin Forensic Suite is that it does not require an installation.

Advantages of Paladin Forensic Suite

• There is no need for installation required.
• It provides a free version.

Disadvantages of Paladin Forensic Suite

• Compatibility issues were found due to hardware.
• It provides limited support.

Conclusion

In conclusion, we will cover the cyber forensic tools. These tools help the investigation team to investigate the device and mention it in court. According to the cyber forensic team and investigation needs, these tools are used.

Frequently Asked Questions on Cyber Forensics Tools- FAQs

What is computer forensics?

It is also called cyber forensics. It investigates the electronic device and checks if the device is involved in any crime such as sending fake emails, stealing sensitive information, etc.

What are the benefits of Cyber forensics?

• It prevents the organization from attacks and saves time and cost.
• It extracts the information from a device so that the cyber forensic team mentions the proof in court.
• It easily detect and prevent fraud.

What are the challenges faced by the cyber investigation team for investigation?

• Working with complex data sometimes it would be challenging for a cyber team to investigate.
• With the Rapid increase in technology, some tools require more knowledge to understand. To overcome this challenge proper training is required.
• The huge amount of storage space makes the investigation difficult.