Question

GOAL: Analyze the provided memory (KobayashiMaru.vmem) file for malicious activity. You can do this several ways. You could login to one of the Win-Hunt VMs available to you through SimSpace to access Volatility. Volatility is also on the Kali-Hunt VMs. If you have trouble using Volatility, consider accessing the SANS Memory Forensics Cheat Sheet. You can of course use other tools designed for memory forensics if you wish to analyze the memory. However, at a minimum you should answer and provide proof and/or reasoning to these questions.

1. What operating system is the computer using? What version?

Answer 1

The correct answer involves using Volatility to analyze a memory dump and determine the operating system and version by identifying the profile with commands such as 'volatility -f KobayashiMaru.vmem imageinfo'.

Step-by-step explanation:

Following the OS identification, additional analysis identifies potential malicious activity, with cross-referencing against the SANS Memory Forensics Cheat Sheet to verify findings.

The correct answer to determining the operating system and its version from a memory file using a tool like Volatility is by first running a command to identify the system's profile. This is important as it allows the analyst to know which OS the memory dump came from and ensures that further analysis is accurate. Once the OS profile has been identified, analysts can run additional commands tailored to the operating system in question to gather more information about potential malicious activity in the memory dump.

For example, commands such as 'volatility -f KobayashiMaru.vmem imageinfo' can be used to establish the profile. After determining the profile, commands like 'volatility -f KobayashiMaru.vmem --profile=WinXPSP2x86 pslist' could enumerate processes that were running when the memory image was captured, potentially revealing any anomalies or evidence of malware processes.

It is essential to cross-reference the findings with the SANS Memory Forensics Cheat Sheet to validate the identified processes and their legitimacy effectively. Only through thorough analysis and cross-referencing can one confirm the presence of malicious activity.