Digital Forensic Certification Practice Exam

Which system file did George access while analyzing the NTFS file system for malicious events?

1. $mft

2. $logfile

3. $volume

4. $bitmap

The correct answer is: $mft

The correct choice highlights the Master File Table (MFT) as a pivotal component of the NTFS file system. The MFT is essentially the backbone of the NTFS structure, containing records for each file and directory on the volume. This includes critical information such as file name, location, size, timestamps, and permissions. In the context of digital forensics, analyzing the MFT is crucial for several reasons. It allows forensic analysts to establish a timeline of file activity, reconstruct deleted files, and investigate any unusual or unauthorized modifications. The MFT’s detailed records make it an invaluable source for identifying malicious events and understanding how an attacker may have interacted with the system by creating, modifying, or deleting files. While the other system files, such as the $logfile, $volume, and $bitmap, do serve important roles within the NTFS file system, they do not provide the comprehensive file-level details found in the MFT. The $logfile is primarily concerned with transaction logging to maintain file system integrity; the $volume contains metadata about the volume itself, and the $bitmap helps track the allocation status of clusters on the disk. However, none offers the same breadth of insight into file activities as the MFT does.