WGU Digital-Forensics-in-Cybersecurity Digital Forensics in Cybersecurity (D431/C840DQO1) Course Exam Exam Practice Test

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

Identity theft occurs when an attacker unlawfully obtains and uses another person's personal information to open accounts, access credit, or commit fraud. The opening of credit cards without the victim's consent is a classic example.

SQL injection is a web application attack method that does not directly relate to this case.

Cyberstalking involves harassment via digital means and is unrelated.

Malware is malicious software and may be used to facilitate identity theft but is not the crime itself.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

Eudora email client uses the.mbxfile extension to store email messages. The.mbxformat stores emails in a mailbox file similar to the standard mbox format used by other email clients.

.dbxis used by Microsoft Outlook Express.

.ostand.pstare file types used by Microsoft Outlook.

Therefore,.mbxis specific to Eudora.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

The foremost principle in digital forensics isnever altering the original evidence. This ensures integrity, authenticity, and admissibility in court.

Investigators analyze forensic copies, not originals.

Write-blockers and hashing are used to prevent changes.

Any alteration—intentional or accidental—can invalidate evidence.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) is the protocol used to send email messages from a client to a mail server or between mail servers. It handles the transmission of outgoing mail. IMAP and POP3 are protocols used for retrieving email, not sending it. SNMP is used for network management.

IMAP and POP3 are for receiving emails.

SNMP is unrelated to email delivery.

This is documented in RFC 5321 and supported by all standard email system operations, including forensic analyses.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

Mac systems traditionally use the Hierarchical File System Plus (HFS+), which supports features such as journaling and metadata handling suited for Mac OS environments. Newer versions use APFS but HFS+ remains relevant.

NTFS is primarily a Windows file system.

EXT4 is a Linux file system.

FAT32 is a generic cross-platform file system but lacks advanced features.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

In incident response, after collecting volatile data (such as contents of RAM), the next priority is often to collect network-related evidence such as active network connections. Network connections can reveal ongoing communications, attacker activity, command and control channels, or data exfiltration paths.

Running processes and temporary data are also volatile but typically collected simultaneously or immediately after volatile memory.

File timestamps relate to non-volatile data and are collected later after volatile data acquisition to preserve evidence integrity.

This sequence is supported by NIST SP 800-86 and SANS Incident Handler’s Handbook which emphasize the volatility of evidence and recommend capturing network state immediately after memory.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

The Windows Security Account Manager (SAM) file stores hashed passwords for local Windows user accounts. These hashes are used to authenticate users without storing plaintext passwords.

The SAM file stores local account password hashes, not network passwords.

Passwords are hashed (not encrypted) using algorithms like NTLM or LM hashes.

Network password management occurs elsewhere (e.g., Active Directory).

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

A sniffer, also known as a packet analyzer, captures network traffic in real time and allows IT staff to monitor and analyze data packets passing through the network. This is crucial when investigating potential data leaks or network vulnerabilities. Using a sniffer helps identify unauthorized transmissions of sensitive data and trace suspicious activity at the packet level.

Sniffers collect raw network data which can be analyzed for patterns or anomalies.

According to NIST guidelines on network forensics, packet capture tools (sniffers) are essential in gathering digital evidence related to network security incidents.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

The Advanced Forensic Format (AFF) is an open file format designed for storing disk images and related forensic metadata. It was developed by the Sleuth Kit community and is supported by forensic tools such as Sleuth Kit and Autopsy. AFF allows efficient storage, compression, and metadata annotation, which makes it suitable for forensic investigations.

AccessData is known for FTK format, not AFF.

iLook uses proprietary formats unrelated to AFF.

Guidance Software developed the EnCase Evidence File (E01) format.

AFF is widely recognized in open-source forensic toolchains.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

Network transaction logs capture records of network connections, including source and destination IP addresses, ports, and timestamps. These logs are essential in identifying the attacker’s origin and understanding the nature of the intrusion.

Network logs provide traceability back to the attacker.

Forensic procedures prioritize collecting network logs to identify unauthorized access.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

Snow is a specialized steganalysis tool that detects and extracts hidden data encoded in whitespace characters within text files and other mediums. It is widely used in digital forensic investigations for detecting covert data hiding methods such as whitespace steganography.

Data Doctor is a general data recovery tool, not specialized in steganalysis.

FTK is a general forensic suite, not specifically designed for steganography detection.

MP3Stego is focused on audio steganography.

NIST and digital forensics literature recognize Snow as a valuable tool in workflows designed to detect hidden data in text or similar carriers.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

Real evidence (also called physical evidence) refers to tangible objects that are involved in the crime or relevant to the investigation. A USB flash drive is physical evidence because it is an actual device containing potentially relevant digital data.

Documentary evidence refers to written or recorded information, not physical devices.

Demonstrative evidence is used to illustrate or clarify facts (e.g., models, charts).

Testimonial evidence is oral or written statements provided by witnesses.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

Snow is a tool that encodes hidden messages using whitespace characters (spaces and tabs), which can be embedded in text and sometimes in image file metadata or formats that allow invisible characters. It is commonly used to hide data in plain sight, including within digital images.

Steganophony focuses on hiding data in VoIP.

Wolf is not recognized as a steganography tool for whitespace.

QuickStego is another tool for text-based steganography but less commonly associated with whitespace specifically.

Forensic and cybersecurity literature often cites Snow as the preferred tool for whitespace-based steganography.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

NIST Special Publication 800-72 provides guidelines for mobile device forensics and identifies four device states during data extraction: active, idle, powered off, and locked. These states influence how data can be accessed and preserved.

Understanding these states helps forensic investigators select appropriate acquisition techniques.

NIST SP 800-72 is a key reference for mobile device forensic methodologies.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

NTFS is the primary file system used by Microsoft Windows operating systems starting from Windows NT and continuing through modern versions including Windows 8. NTFS supports advanced features like file permissions, encryption, and journaling, which are critical for modern OS file management.

Linux typically uses ext3, ext4, or other native file systems, not NTFS as a primary system.

Mac OS X v10.4 and v10.5 use HFS+ as the native file system, not NTFS.

Windows 8 uses NTFS as its default file system.

This is documented in official Microsoft and NIST digital forensics resources.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

The Chain of Custody (CoC) is the documented and unbroken transfer record of evidence handling, from seizure to presentation in court. It ensures that the evidence has been preserved, controlled, and protected from tampering or alteration.

Evidence record documents evidence details but is less formal than CoC.

Event log and audit log are system-generated records and do not replace the formal CoC.

CoC is a fundamental forensic principle as outlined by NIST SP 800-86 and the Scientific Working Group on Digital Evidence (SWGDE) best practices, ensuring evidence admissibility and reliability in legal proceedings.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

Firewall logs record network traffic to and from the messaging server and can provide evidence of unauthorized access attempts or data exfiltration. Collecting these logs allows investigators to reconstruct the attack timeline and identify the attacker’s IP address and methods.

Firewall logs are critical for network-level forensics.

According to NIST SP 800-86, log files provide primary evidence for intrusion investigations.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

The fundamental tasks for a forensic specialist are to locate potential digital evidence, ensure its preservation to prevent tampering or loss, and prepare the evidence for analysis or legal proceedings. Proper handling maintains the evidentiary value of digital artifacts.

Preservation includes using write-blockers and documenting chain of custody.

Preparation may involve imaging, cataloging, and validating evidence.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

Disconnecting the computer from the network by unplugging the Ethernet cable prevents further spread of malware and stops external communication that could lead to data exfiltration. This containment step is vital before further evidence collection.

Maintaining system power preserves volatile memory.

Network disconnection is recommended by incident response guidelines.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

The/etcdirectory on Unix-based systems, including macOS, contains important system configuration files and scripts. It is the standard location for system-wide configuration data.

/varcontains variable data like logs and spool files.

/bincontains essential binary executables.

/cfgis not a standard directory in macOS.

This is standard Unix/Linux directory structure knowledge and is reflected in NIST and forensic references for macOS.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

The Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) regulates interception and recording of electronic communications and generally requires the consent of both parties involved in a conversation for legal recordings.

This consent requirement protects privacy rights during investigations.

Non-compliance can lead to evidence being inadmissible or legal penalties.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

When collecting evidence from a running system, volatile and critical evidence such as security logs should be collected first as they are most susceptible to being overwritten or lost. Security logs may contain valuable information on unauthorized access or malicious activity.

Chat room logs, recently accessed files, and temporary internet files are important but often less volatile or can be recovered from disk later.

NIST SP 800-86 and SANS Incident Response Guidelines prioritize the collection of volatile logs and memory contents first.

This approach helps ensure preservation of time-sensitive data critical for forensic analysis.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

The CAN-SPAM Act requires that commercial emails include a clear and conspicuous mechanism allowing recipients to opt out of receiving future emails. This opt-out method cannot require payment or additional steps that would discourage recipients.

The act aims to reduce unsolicited commercial emails and spam.

Compliance is critical for lawful email marketing and forensic investigations involving email misuse.