Question

You have acquired a forensic image of a suspect’s laptop. After doing an examination, you discover at least one VM installed, and you think more data can be found, but you aren’t sure. You decide to make a copy of the VM’s files and mount the VM as an external drive. Write the best procedure for this situation.

Answer 1

The process of extracting data from a virtual machine within a forensic image involves identifying VM files, making a copy, mounting the virtual hard disk as an external drive, analyzing the file system with forensic tools, and documenting all steps to maintain the chain of custody.

Step-by-step explanation:

To extract and analyze data from a virtual machine (VM) located on a forensic image of a suspect's laptop, you should follow a careful process to ensure that you do not alter the evidence in any way. First, ensure that you have the necessary permissions and are adhering to legal guidelines for digital forensics.

Here is a step-by-step procedure for the situation:

1. Identify the VM files on the forensic image. These usually include virtual hard disks (VHDs or VMDKs), configuration files, and snapshot files.
2. Make a copy of the VM files to preserve the integrity of the original evidence. This is crucial as you always want to work on a copy rather than the original data.
3. Use forensic tools to mount the VM's virtual hard disk as an external drive on your forensic workstation. You will need to use software that supports the specific VM file format.
4. Once mounted, use forensic analysis tools to examine the file system and recover any files or data of interest.
5. Document all of your steps meticulously, including how you mounted the image and any tools or commands used.

Throughout the process, it is important to maintain the chain of custody and to work in a forensically sound manner, ensuring that your actions do not alter the data.