University Assignment: Digital Forensics Data Acquisition Tools Report

This report provides a comprehensive overview of data acquisition tools used in digital forensics, addressing the requirements of a case study project. The report begins with an introduction to computer forensics and data acquisition, followed by an analysis of several tools, including Encase, X-ways Forensics, ProDiscover, Forensic Toolkit, and PTK forensics. For each tool, the report details key features, supported file systems, and vendor information. A comparative spreadsheet is included, comparing the tools based on various features such as raw format support, proprietary format compatibility, compression capabilities, and data validation methods. The report concludes with a summary of the findings and a bibliography of cited sources, fulfilling the assignment brief's requirements for a detailed examination of data acquisition tools in the context of digital forensics.

Running head: DIGITAL FORENSIC AND DATA ANALYSIS
DIGITAL FORENSIC AND DATA ANALYSIS
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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DIGITAL FORENSIC AND DATA ANALYSIS
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Computer forensics..........................................................................................................................2
About the data acquisition tools......................................................................................................2
Benefits of data acquisition tool......................................................................................................3
Encase tool...................................................................................................................................3
X-ways forensics.........................................................................................................................4
ProDiscover tool..........................................................................................................................4
Forensic Toolkit...........................................................................................................................5
PTK forensics..............................................................................................................................5
List of vendors with features...........................................................................................................5
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................6
Bibliography....................................................................................................................................7

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DIGITAL FORENSIC AND DATA ANALYSIS
Introduction
The objective of the report is to study the current data acquisition tools that are associated
with digital forensics. The report will discuss the way different tools are used within an
organization. The digital forensic tools are used for the purpose of organizing the different
components effectively. Digital forensic mainly involves the investigation and recovery of
materials that are found within digital devices. The data acquisition tools will be analyzed based
on certain factors.
Computer forensics
Computer forensic is concerned with analyzing the digital evidence that are used for
crime or in the case of administrative. There is a need to manage the data legally so that it
becomes easy to organize the components. Computer forensic is considered to be different from
data recovery. With the help of data recovery it becomes easy to provide proper data
management. It can be stated that with the help of proper computer forensics the chances of data
enhancement can be increased.
About the data acquisition tools
Data acquisition is referred to the process that is used for the purpose of making a
forensic image through the use of computer media that includes hard drive, removal hard drives,
CDROM and media. This stores electronic data that includes gaming consoles and other devices.
With the help of data acquisition tools it becomes easy to measure the real world physical
conditions and then it becomes easy to convert the analog signals into the digital signals. The

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DIGITAL FORENSIC AND DATA ANALYSIS
different data acquisition tools that are used in digital forensic include PTK forensics, Forensic
Toolkit, ProDiscover tool, X-ways forensics and Encase tool.
Benefits of data acquisition tool
The major benefits that are offered with the use of data acquisition tool are that it ensures
that all the essential data are managed properly. The three elements that are associated with data
acquisition system are a signal conditioner, analog-to-digital converter and a sensor. The reasons
behind having a proper data acquisition system are described below:
 Improving the overall efficiency and reliability off the processors
 With the help of proper data acquisition system it becomes easy to analyze the issues and
solve faster
 The data redundancy also gets reduced with proper enhanced system
 Decreasing the update errors
 Proper quality control needs to manage
 Data security gets improved with enhanced system
Encase tool
Encase tool operates the function through Ubuntu platform. This is basically a multi-
purpose forensic operating system. The toolkit has certain features that includes providing the
capability to examine the raw disks and multiple file systems and manages the evidence formats
securely. The file systems that are supported include Windows, Mac, solaris and linux. The latest
version available is 7.04.
Key features:

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DIGITAL FORENSIC AND DATA ANALYSIS
 Ubuntu LTS 16.04 Base
 64-bit base system
 Auto-DFIR package update and customization
 VMware appliance ready to tackle forensics
 5Cross-Compatibility between Windows and Linux
 Choice to install stand-alone via (.iso) or use VMware player/Workstation
X-ways forensics
X-ways forensics is one of the advanced work environment that is designed for forensic
examiners. The key features that are offered with the use of X-ways forensics tool includes
imagining, complete access towards the disks, access towards the logical memory of running
processes and also supports the windows to have high DPI settings. X-ways forensics operates
mainly on windows platform. The version that is offered towards the users is 19.6. The
integrated computer forensics environments are created with the use of X ways. In addition to
this it has been observed that various data recovery techniques also come along with the use of
X-way forensics.
ProDiscover tool
Pro discover tool is a digital forensic tool that is used for the purpose of preservation,
presentation and analysis of electronic evidence. Pro discover tool is designed with a flexible
graphic user interface with the advanced sorting, previewing, scripting and filtering technology.
This is one of the most advanced toolkits that offer wide range of features towards the users. Pro
discover tool is the tool that is developed by the technology pathways and the latest version of
the tool is 7.04.

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DIGITAL FORENSIC AND DATA ANALYSIS
Forensic Toolkit
Forensic toolkit is a data acquisition tool that is used for the purpose of managing the
stability. This is also known as multi-purpose tool and is used for the purpose of speeding up the
investigation of digital platforms. Forensic toolkit is used for scanning hard drives for managing
the different information. The most suitable operating system is windows. This tool aims at
saving an image of a hard disk in one file. With the help of this toolkit it becomes easy to
manage the overall digital forensics. This tool is preferred for the purpose of multi-tasking
feature. The acquisition tool will help in managing the overall performance.
PTK forensics
PTK forensics is developed by DF labs Inc. non free and commercial GUI that was
developed for the old versions of digital forensics. The latest release of PTK forensics is version
2.0. This is available in different platforms that include Java script, PHP and Perl.
List of vendors with features
Acquistio
n Tools
R
a
w
fo
r
m
at
Pro
priet
ary
form
at
AF
F
for
mat
Other
propriet
ary
formats
the tool
can read
Comp
ression
of
image
files
Remote
network
acquisition
capabilities
Method
used for
data
validatio
n
pro
discover
.p
ds
Null null null yes yes SHA1,
MD5 ,
CRRC12
FTK
imager
dd .e01,.
s01
null null yes no SHA1,
MD5 ,
CRRC12
X-ways
forensics
dd .e01 null null yes NO SHA1,
MD5
access
data FTK
dd .e01 null null yes yes SHA1,
MD5
Encase dd .e01 null null yes NO SHA1,

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DIGITAL FORENSIC AND DATA ANALYSIS
MD5
Conclusion
Data acquisition system helps in improving the overall performance of the companies.
With the use of proper data acquisition system it becomes easy to improve the overall reliability
and processing. The report has evaluated the different digital forensic tools that are used for
improving the overall performance of the organization. Data acquisition is important and thus
there is a need to use appropriate tool for enhancing the performance.

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DIGITAL FORENSIC AND DATA ANALYSIS
Bibliography
Baig, Z. A., Szewczyk, P., Valli, C., Rabadia, P., Hannay, P., Chernyshev, M., ... & Syed, N.
(2017). Future challenges for smart cities: Cyber-security and digital forensics. Digital
Investigation, 22, 3-13.
Emec, S., Krüger, J., & Seliger, G. (2016). Online fault-monitoring in machine tools based on
energy consumption analysis and non-invasive data acquisition for improved resource-
efficiency. Procedia CIRP, 40, 236-243.
Gittler, T., Gontarz, A., Weiss, L., & Wegener, K. (2019). A fundamental approach for data
acquisition on machine tools as enabler for analytical Industrie 4.0 applications. Procedia
CIRP, 79, 586-591.
Hansen, J. (2017). The study of keyword search in open source search engines and digital
forensics tools with respect to the needs of cyber crime investigations (Master's thesis,
NTNU).
Lyko, K., Nitzschke, M., & Ngomo, A. C. N. (2016). Big data acquisition. In New Horizons for a
Data-Driven Economy (pp. 39-61). Springer, Cham.
Song, Y., Cheng, S., & Feng, X. (2018, May). Development of data acquisition system for digital
display and measurement tools based on Bluetooth. In 2018 8th International Conference
on Manufacturing Science and Engineering (ICMSE 2018). Atlantis Press.