Full Report
John Strand // In the last webcast we covered initial Windows Live Forensics (see the recording here), in this one we play with memory from a compromised system. We cover the […] The post WEBCAST: Windows Memory Forensics appeared first on Black Hills Information Security, Inc..
Analysis Summary
# Tool/Technique: Windows Memory Forensics Tools (Volatility and Rekall)
## Overview
This summary focuses on the concepts and tools discussed in a Black Hills Information Security webcast concerning Windows Memory Forensics, specifically mentioning Volatility and Google's Rekall for analyzing memory dumps from potentially compromised systems. The main goal is to use memory analysis to uncover activities that may not be evident from disk-based forensics.
## Technical Details
- Type: Tool (Mention) / Technique (Memory Forensics)
- Platform: Windows
- Capabilities: Dumping system memory, analyzing memory contents for running processes, network connections, and artifacts of compromise.
- First Seen: Information relates to webcast from February 13, 2017, referencing established tools at that time.
## MITRE ATT&CK Mapping
Since the article describes a forensic analysis process rather than an attack execution, direct mappings focus on the implied defensive/investigative techniques:
- T1003.001 - OS Credential Dumping: LSASS Memory
- *Implied relevance as memory analysis often targets credentials.*
- T1057 - Process Discovery
- *Tools like Volatility/Rekall are used to discover active processes.*
- T1049 - System Network Connections Discovery
- *Tools often enumerate active network sessions.*
## Functionality
### Core Capabilities
- **Memory Dumping:** Obtaining a volatile snapshot (memory dump) of a running system.
- **Process Analysis:** Identifying processes running in memory, including hidden or malicious ones.
- **Artifact Examination:** Reviewing memory contents for traditional forensic artifacts (e.g., network sockets, loaded modules, command-line arguments).
### Advanced Features
- (Not explicitly detailed, but inherent to these tools): Rootkit detection, analyzing kernel structures, and extracting specific data structures from the physical memory image.
## Indicators of Compromise
This summary covers the analysis methodology, not specific IOCs generated by an attack. The focus is on the output of the tools:
- File Hashes: [N/A - Tools only]
- File Names: [N/A - Discusses analysis of existing dumps]
- Registry Keys: [N/A]
- Network Indicators: [Analysis output will show C2 IP/domains present in active memory connections, these should be defanged upon documentation.]
- Behavioral Indicators: [Presence of unusual processes or hidden threads identified during physical memory inspection.]
## Associated Threat Actors
- [N/A - The tools (Volatility, Rekall) are standard, widely used forensic utilities utilized by security defenders, incident responders, and sometimes advanced threat actors.]
## Detection Methods
This refers to the mechanisms used *during* memory forensics, not detection of the malware itself:
- **Signature-based detection:** Less relevant for memory analysis unless analyzing specific malware artifacts dumped from memory.
- **Behavioral detection:** Analyzing memory artifacts (e.g., injected code segments, unusual process relationships) to infer malicious behavior.
- **YARA rules:** Can be applied post-dump to scan memory images for known malware patterns.
## Mitigation Strategies
As this is a forensic technique, mitigation focuses on preparation for analysis:
- **Prevention measures:** Implementing strong logging and monitoring to capture data before it is lost.
- **Hardening recommendations:** Maintaining system integrity, though memory analysis is often a post-incident response, not a preventative measure against initial access.
## Related Tools/Techniques
- **Volatility:** (Noted as moved to `github.com/volatilityfoundation` as of the context date)
- **Rekall (Google):** (Noted as moved to `github.com/google/rekall` as of the context date)
- Windows Live Forensics (Mentioned as a prerequisite technique).