CCNA Storage Forensics and File System Analysis Questions

Which TWO of the following are features of the NTFS file system that can be used to hide data? (Select TWO.)

An investigator is analyzing a memory dump from a compromised server using Volatility. The 'pslist' plugin shows a process with no parent PID (PPID). Which of the following is the most likely explanation?

Which TWO of the following are file systems that use journaling to maintain integrity?

An examiner is analyzing an SSD and notices that TRIM is enabled. Why does TRIM pose a challenge for digital forensics?

A forensic analyst is investigating a compromised Linux server running an ext4 file system. The analyst suspects the attacker deleted critical log files (e.g., /var/log/auth.log) and wants to recover them. Which TWO techniques would be MOST effective for recovering the deleted files?

During a forensic examination of a Windows system, an analyst runs the Volatility plugin `netscan` on a memory dump. What information does this plugin primarily provide?

A security analyst is investigating a compromised Windows server and wants to capture the contents of RAM for analysis. Which of the following tools is specifically designed for this purpose?

An analyst is investigating a compromised Linux system and runs `ls -i` on a deleted file's directory. The inode number is 12345. Which tool can recover the file contents by referencing the inode?

Which THREE of the following are techniques used to hide data on a hard drive?

Which two of the following are tools used for memory forensics acquisition? (Choose TWO.)

During a forensic analysis of a Windows 10 system, an investigator needs to locate the Master File Table ($MFT) to analyze file metadata. Which file system structure contains the $MFT?

An analyst notices that a file on an NTFS volume occupies 4096 bytes on disk but its actual data is only 100 bytes. The extra space contains remnants of a previously deleted file. What is this extra space called?

An analyst is conducting memory forensics on a Windows system using Volatility. Which THREE commands can provide information about network connections?

An analyst is examining a RAID 5 array of three disks. One disk has failed and been replaced; the array is rebuilding. Which of the following is the most significant forensic challenge regarding data acquisition from this array?

A security analyst detects suspicious activity on a Windows workstation. They acquire RAM using WinPmem and analyze it with Volatility. Which Volatility command would list all active processes along with their parent process IDs?

An analyst discovers a hidden partition on a hard drive that does not appear in the standard MBR partition table. The drive uses GPT partitioning. Which area of the disk should be examined to find evidence of a hidden partition?

Which forensic tool is specifically designed to recover lost partitions or file system structures and can also be used for data carving?

A forensic investigator is analyzing a RAID 0 array consisting of two disks. She uses FTK Imager to acquire the logical drive. However, the data appears interleaved. What additional step is necessary to properly assemble the image?

A forensic analyst finds a partition that uses the Master Boot Record (MBR) scheme. Which of the following is TRUE about the MBR partition table?

Which TWO of the following are examples of file carving tools? (Select two.)

During a forensic investigation of a hard disk, the investigator finds that the partition table is missing. The disk was previously partitioned using GPT. Which area of the disk should be examined to recover the GPT partition table?

Which TWO of the following are commonly used tools for file carving (recovering files based on file signatures)? (Select TWO.)

Which TWO of the following are Volatility plugins used for process enumeration? (Select two.)

An analyst is investigating a Linux system that used ext4. The suspect deleted several files and then ran 'fstrim' on the partition. Which of the following best describes the challenge in recovering the deleted data?

During a forensic examination of an SSD, the analyst notes that TRIM is enabled. What challenge does TRIM pose for data recovery?

During a forensic investigation, an examiner wants to recover deleted files from a FAT32 file system. Which structure is most critical for file recovery?

What is slack space in a file system?

An analyst is preparing to analyze a RAID 5 array of three disks. The analyst wants to reconstruct the logical volume for file system analysis. Which THREE steps are essential in this process?

A forensic investigator is analyzing a USB drive formatted with FAT32 and finds that a deleted file's directory entry still exists but the first character of the filename is replaced with 0xE5. What does this indicate?

A forensic analyst is examining a Windows 10 system and needs to view the Master File Table ($MFT) to identify recently deleted files. Which tool is most appropriate for parsing the $MFT directly?

An investigator uses the Volatility framework on a memory dump from a Windows 10 system. Which command would list all processes, including those hidden by rootkits?

Which of the following is a Windows-based forensic suite that provides timeline analysis, keyword search, and file system browsing for forensic investigations?

During a forensic analysis of an APFS volume, the investigator needs to examine file metadata such as creation time, modification time, and extended attributes. Which APFS structure contains this information?

Which TWO of the following are valid methods to hide data on an NTFS file system without using external tools?

An investigator is analyzing a FAT32 drive and notices that a deleted file's directory entry still exists, but the first byte of the filename is changed to 0xE5. What does this indicate about the file?

An analyst discovers that a Windows system has hidden data in the Host Protected Area (HPA) of the hard drive. Which tool or method can be used to detect and access the HPA?

A forensic investigator recovers a hard drive from a suspect's computer. The drive is detected as 120 GB in BIOS, but forensic tools report only 100 GB of addressable space. Which data hiding technique is MOST likely being used?

An investigator needs to analyze the contents of the Windows Recycle Bin on a system running Windows 10. Which artifact(s) should the investigator examine to determine the original location and deletion time of a file in the Recycle Bin?

A forensic analyst is examining a USB drive formatted with FAT32. A suspect claims they deleted a file several weeks ago. The analyst uses a carving tool but cannot recover the file. What is the MOST likely reason for the failed recovery?

A forensic examiner acquires a RAM image from a Windows 10 system and uses Volatility to analyze it. Which command would list all running processes along with their parent process IDs and command lines?

A security analyst examines a compromised Windows server and finds a file named 'readme.txt' that appears legitimate. However, using `dir /r`, they discover an alternate data stream named 'readme.txt:hidden.exe'. What is the most likely purpose of this alternate data stream?

An investigator images an SSD that has TRIM enabled. Which of the following challenges will MOST likely affect the recovery of deleted files from this SSD?

During an investigation of a Linux system, an analyst runs `ls -li` and sees that a file's inode number is 0. What does this indicate about the file?

An analyst is examining a hard drive that was seized from a suspect. The drive is detected as a smaller capacity than listed on the label. Which of the following is the MOST likely explanation?

An analyst is examining a Windows 10 system and suspects the use of NTFS alternate data streams (ADS) to hide malicious executables. Which THREE methods can the analyst use to detect hidden ADS on the system?

A Linux system uses the ext4 filesystem. A forensic analyst needs to recover a recently deleted file. Which of the following methods is MOST likely to succeed if the file's inode has not been reallocated?

During a memory forensics analysis using Volatility, an examiner runs 'python vol.py -f memory.dmp pslist' and sees a suspicious process named 'expl0rer.exe' with a PPID of 4. What does a PPID of 4 indicate, and what should the examiner do next?

In an ext4 file system, a forensic analyst needs to examine the journal to recover recently deleted files. Where is the journal typically stored?

During a forensic investigation, you encounter a Windows system with an NTFS volume. The suspect claims they never used the recycle bin, but you find files in the $Recycle.bin folder. Which artifact can help you determine the original file path and deletion time?

Which TWO of the following are challenges in SSD forensics compared to traditional HDD forensics? (Choose two.)

Which TWO of the following are challenges specific to SSD forensics compared to traditional HDD forensics?

A forensic examiner is analyzing a RAID 5 array consisting of three disks. One disk has failed and is not available. The remaining two disks contain data and parity. Which technique can be used to reconstruct the missing disk's data and recover the original data?

A forensic investigator is examining a Mac system with APFS. Which artifact would be most useful for determining the exact time a file was moved to the Trash?

During a forensic analysis of a compromised server, you discover that a rootkit has hidden itself by modifying the HPA (Host Protected Area) of the hard disk. Which tool can detect the presence of an HPA by comparing the reported size with the actual number of sectors?

Which file system uses a Master File Table ($MFT) as its central catalog for file metadata?

When analyzing an NTFS volume, an investigator wants to identify files that were recently accessed or modified. Which NTFS artifact stores metadata about file system changes and can be parsed using tools like MFTEcmd or NTFSLogTracker?

A forensic investigator examines a hard drive and needs to recover deleted files. Which tool is specifically designed for file carving by scanning raw data for file headers and footers without relying on the file system?

An analyst suspects that sensitive data was hidden in the NTFS Alternate Data Streams (ADS) of a file on a suspect's drive. Which tool is specifically designed to enumerate and extract data from ADS on a live Windows system?

Which THREE of the following are challenges specific to SSD forensics compared to HDD forensics?

A security analyst is investigating a compromised Windows system and wants to see which processes were running at the time of memory capture. Which Volatility command should they use?

Which THREE of the following are characteristics of the Master File Table ($MFT) in NTFS? (Choose three.)

Which tool is specifically designed to acquire RAM from a Linux system for forensic analysis?

During a forensic investigation, an analyst discovers data hidden in the Host Protected Area (HPA) of a hard drive. Which tool is commonly used to view and access the HPA?

Which TWO of the following are methods used to hide data within the NTFS file system?

An investigator needs to recover deleted files from a USB drive formatted with FAT32. Which of the following techniques would be most effective, assuming the files have not been overwritten?

Which THREE of the following are types of slack space that can contain hidden data on a hard disk?

A forensic analyst needs to acquire RAM from a live Linux system for memory analysis. Which tool is specifically designed for this purpose and can capture memory without rebooting?

During a forensic examination of a solid-state drive (SSD), you notice that files deleted several months ago cannot be recovered using traditional file carving tools. Which SSD feature is MOST likely preventing recovery?

A forensic analyst is examining a hard drive and needs to identify the number of sectors per track. Which component of the hard disk structure defines this?

An analyst finds evidence that an attacker used steganography to hide data within image files on the suspect's computer. Which of the following tools is MOST appropriate for detecting steganography in these images?

An analyst retrieves a forensic image of a hard drive and discovers that the size reported by the operating system is smaller than the actual physical capacity. The extra space is not accessible through standard partition tools. This hidden area is MOST likely:

During an investigation, an analyst uses the `volatility -f mem.dmp windows.pslist` command and observes a process named 'svchost.exe' with PID 1234. Further analysis shows that this process has no parent process (PPID = 0). What is the MOST likely explanation for this anomaly?

During a forensic examination, an analyst uses Autopsy to view the contents of the Recycle Bin on a Windows 10 system. However, some files that were deleted by the user do not appear in the Recycle Bin. What is the MOST likely reason?

During an investigation, an analyst recovers a file from unallocated space that contains fragments of a deleted document. The file size is 512 bytes, but the cluster size of the volume is 4096 bytes. What is the term for the unused bytes between the end of the file and the end of the last cluster?

An analyst is investigating a Linux server that suffered a data breach. The attacker deleted several log files. The analyst runs `debugfs /dev/sda1` and issues the command `lsdel`. What is the purpose of this command in the context of file recovery?