CHFI Mobile and Malware Forensics Practice Question
Which tool is specifically designed to perform physical extraction of data from mobile devices, including bypassing lock screens on many iOS and Android devices?
⚠ Common exam trap
EC-Council often tests the distinction between logical extraction (e.g., via ADB or iTunes backup) and physical extraction, and candidates may confuse FTK Imager (a computer forensics tool) with mobile extraction tools, missing that Cellebrite UFED is the only option capable of bypassing lock screens via hardware-level exploits.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Cellebrite UFED
Cellebrite UFED (Universal Forensic Extraction Device) is a specialized hardware and software tool designed for physical extraction of data from mobile devices, including bypassing lock screen security on iOS and Android devices. It uses advanced techniques such as bootloader exploits, JTAG, chip-off, and proprietary software-based methods to acquire full file system images, even when the device is locked or encrypted.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
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SIFT Workstation
Why it's wrong here
SIFT Workstation (SANS Investigative Forensic Toolkit) is a Linux-based forensic workstation bundled with open-source analysis tools for disk imaging, memory forensics, and artifact examination. It is not a mobile extraction tool and has no native capability to communicate with a phone's bootloader, flash memory, or locked security layer. Its role is post-acquisition analysis of evidence already collected, not physical acquisition from a mobile device.
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FTK Imager
Why it's wrong here
FTK Imager is a forensic imaging utility designed primarily for creating bit-for-bit images of hard drives, SSDs, removable media, and RAM, as well as mounting and previewing those images. It lacks the device-specific hardware protocols and exploit-based agents needed to talk to a smartphone's storage controller or bootloader. As a result, it cannot perform physical extraction from mobile devices, bypass a lockscreen, or access the raw flash filesystem of an Android or iOS device.
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Cellebrite UFED
Why this is correct
Cellebrite UFED (Universal Forensic Extraction Device) is a purpose-built mobile forensic tool specifically engineered to perform physical extraction from smartphones, tablets, and feature phones. It covers bootloader-level and exploit-based acquisition paths, enabling full filesystem images even when the screen is locked, and it also supports logical, file system, and chip-off/ISP extractions across thousands of device models. Its proprietary hardware and continuously updated breakout software make it the industry standard for extracting evidence from mobile devices when physical acquisition is required.
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Wireshark
Why it's wrong here
Wireshark is a network protocol analyzer that captures and decodes live network traffic or reads previously saved pcap files. It operates at the packet level and cannot access a mobile device's storage, flash memory, or filesystem, nor can it bypass screen locks. In a mobile forensic workflow, Wireshark might be used only incidentally to inspect network communications generated by a device, not to perform physical extraction of its stored data.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This CHFI practice question is part of Courseiva's free EC-Council certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the CHFI exam.