What TRIM, DRAT, and DZAT Really Mean for SSD Forensics
June 2nd, 2025 by Oleg Afonin
If you’re doing forensic work today, odds are you’re imaging SSDs, not just spinning hard drives. And SSDs don’t behave like HDDs – especially when it comes to deleted files. One key reason: the TRIM command. TRIM makes SSDs behave different to magnetic hard drives when it comes to recovering deleted evidence. This article breaks down what TRIM actually does, how SSDs respond, and what forensic experts need to know when handling modern storage.
Protecting Linux and NAS Devices: LUKS, eCryptFS and Native ZFS Encryption Compared
November 2nd, 2021 by Oleg Afonin
Many Linux distributions including those used in off the shelf Network Attached Storage (NAS) devices have the ability to protect users’ data with one or more types of encryption. Full-disk and folder-based encryption options are commonly available, each with its own set of pros and contras. The new native ZFS encryption made available in OpenZFS 2.0 is designed to combine the benefits of full-disk and folder-based encryption without the associated drawbacks. In this article, we’ll compare the strengths and weaknesses of LUKS, eCryptFS and ZFS encryption.
Using a Trusted Device for iCloud Authentication
October 26th, 2021 by Oleg Afonin
To perform an iCloud extraction, a valid password is generally required, followed by solving the two-factor authentication challenge. If the user’s iPhone is everything that you have, the iCloud password may not be available. By using a trusted device, one can gain unrestricted access to everything that is stored in the user’s iCloud account. This article gives a comprehensive walkthrough on this alternative authentication method.
iCloud Extractions Without Passwords and Tokens: When a Trusted Device is Enough
October 26th, 2021 by Vladimir Katalov
A lot of folks (and even some law enforcement experts) are looking for a one-click solution for mobile extractions and data decryption. Unfortunately, in today’s day and age there are no ‘silver bullet’ solutions. In the days of high-tech mobile devices and end-to-end encryption one must clearly understand the available options, and plan their actions accordingly. The time of ‘snake oil’ exploits is long gone. The modern world of mobile forensics is complex, and your actions will depend on a lot of factors. Today, we’re going to make your life a notch more complex by introducing a new iCloud authentication option you’ve never heard of before.
Cloud Forensics: the New Reality
September 23rd, 2021 by Oleg Afonin
The majority of mobile devices today are encrypted throughout, making extractions difficult or even impossible for major platforms. Traditional attack vectors are becoming a thing of the past with encryption being moved into dedicated security chips, and encryption keys generated on first unlock based on the user’s screen lock passwords. Cloud forensics is a great alternative, often returning as much or even more data compared to what is stored on the device itself.
How to Put an iOS Device with Broken Buttons in DFU Mode
September 20th, 2021 by Elcomsoft R&D
Switching the iPhone into DFU mode is frequently required during the investigation, especially for older devices that are susceptible to checkm8 exploit. However, switching to DFU requires a sequence of key presses on the device with precise timings. If the device is damaged and one or more keys are not working correctly, entering DFU may be difficult or impossible. In this guide, we offer an alternative.
Forensic Implications of Sleep, Hybrid Sleep, Hibernation, and Fast Startup in Windows 10
September 17th, 2021 by Oleg Afonin
When analyzing connected computers, one may be tempted to pull the plug and bring the PC to the lab for in-depth research. This strategy carries risks that may overweigh the benefits. In this article we’ll discuss what exactly you may be losing when pulling the plug.
The iPhone Upgrade: How to Back Up and Restore iOS Devices Without Losing Data
August 27th, 2021 by Vladimir Katalov
In just a few weeks, the new iPhone range will be released. Millions of users all over the world will upgrade, migrating their data from old devices. While Apple has an ingenious backup system in place, it has quite a few things behind the scenes that can make the migration not go as smooth as planned. How do you do the migration properly not to lose anything?
Instant Messengers: Authentication Methods and Instant Password Extraction
August 24th, 2021 by Oleg Afonin
iMessage, Hangouts, Skype, Telegram, Signal, WhatsApp are familiar, while PalTalk, Pigin, Psi Jabber client, Gadu-Gadu, Gajim, Trillian, BigAnt or Brosix are relatively little known. The tools from the first group are not only more popular but infinitely more secure compared to the tools from the second group. In this publication we’ll review the authentication methods used by the various instant messengers, and attempt to extract a password to the user’s account.
iOS 15 Forensic Implications: Temporary iCloud Backups
August 23rd, 2021 by Oleg Afonin
One of the main problems of iCloud forensics (unknown account passwords aside) is the sporadic nature of cloud backups. Experts often find out that a given user either does not have device backups in their iCloud account at all, or only has a very old backup. This happens primarily because of Apple’s policy of only granting 5GB of storage to the users of the free tier. While users can purchase additional storage for mere 99 cents a months, very few do so. iCloud Photos, downloads and other data quickly fill up the allotted storage space, leaving no space for a fresh cloud backup.
NAS Forensics: TrueNAS Encryption Overview
August 20th, 2021 by Oleg Afonin
Established NAS manufacturers often offer some kind of encryption to their users. While anyone can use “military-grade AES-256 encryption”, the implementation details vary greatly. Synology, Asustor, and TerraMaster implement folder-based encryption, while QNAP, Thecus, and Asustor (MyAcrhive) employ full-disk encryption; the full comparison is available here. In this article, we’ll have a look at encryption methods used in TrueNAS, a system commonly used by computer enthusiasts for building custom NAS servers.
