Digital Forensics

Forensically sound collection, preservation, and analysis of digital evidence — executed with chain‑of‑custody discipline, repeatable methodology, and court‑defensible reporting.

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Overview

Black Trace Labs conducts digital forensic examinations for security incidents, insider activity, fraud, data exfiltration, and litigation support. We operate to industry standards (e.g., NIST 800‑61/800‑86, ISO/IEC 27037/27041/27042/27043) and coordinate closely with your legal and executive teams to ensure evidence is collected, analyzed, and reported in a defensible manner.

Common Engagements

Breach & Intrusion

Compromised endpoints/servers, ransomware, business email compromise (BEC), web app intrusions.

  • Initial access path & lateral movement mapping
  • Data exfiltration validation & scoping
  • Ransomware family triage & dwell‑time analysis
Insider & HR Matters

IP theft, policy violations, unauthorized access, employment disputes.

  • File access/audit trails, USB/device usage
  • Cloud share link history & email artifact review
  • Activity timelines with corroborating artifacts
Malware & Triage

Suspect binaries, scripts, and persistence mechanisms.

  • Static/dynamic analysis, sandboxing, behavioral IOCs
  • Persistence, privilege escalation, and C2 mapping
  • YARA/Sigma detections & containment guidance
eDiscovery Support

Targeted collections and filtering that respect scope and proportionality.

  • Legal hold support & defensible collection
  • Search, deduplication, metadata preservation
  • Matter handoff to counsel or review platforms

Our Forensic Methodology

  1. Intake & Legal Coordination — Define scope, custodians, preservation needs, and counsel directives.
  2. Preservation — Legal hold language; isolate affected systems; protect logs and volatile data.
  3. Acquisition — Forensic images (disks/cloud/mailboxes), RAM capture, targeted collections with hash logs.
  4. Examination — Artifacts (MFT/USN, registry, event logs, shellbags, prefetch, browser & email), correlation & timeline.
  5. Analysis — Attack path, data access/exfil, malware behavior, IOC development and environment sweep.
  6. Reporting — Executive brief + technical report, exhibits, and remediation recommendations.
  7. Testimony Support — Affidavits and expert support if required by counsel.

Every step is logged with examiner, tool versions, hashes, timestamps, and evidence IDs for full traceability.

Evidence Handling & Chain of Custody

We maintain strict chain‑of‑custody from collection to reporting. Evidence is assigned exhibit IDs, hashed on acquisition and verification, and stored on encrypted, access‑controlled media. Transfers use secure couriers or encrypted portals with two‑party verification.

Tools & Capabilities

Host & Endpoint
  • Disk & file system: MFT/USN, registry, LNK, jumplists, shellbags
  • Memory: volatility‑based triage, process & DLL analysis
  • Windows, macOS, Linux artifact suites; mobile (as scope allows)
Network & Cloud
  • PCAP/flow analysis, proxy/DNS telemetry, email & SaaS collections
  • Cloud audit logs (AWS/Azure/GCP), mailbox & drive exports
  • IOC enrichment: threat intel, sandboxing, YARA/Sigma hunts

What You Receive

Reports & Exhibits
  • Executive Summary (facts, impact, risk, recommended actions)
  • Technical Report (methods, artifacts, timelines, IOCs)
  • Exhibits: screenshots, hashes, chain‑of‑custody forms
  • Remediation checklist and validation steps
Legal & Audit Support
  • Attorney‑client coordination and privileged workstreams
  • Regulatory notification input (as directed by counsel)
  • Sworn statements / expert support if required
  • Audit‑friendly evidence packages

Forensic Retainer & Readiness

Reduce response time and investigation cost with a readiness program: data source inventory, log retention strategy, endpoint collection playbooks, and contact trees—so when an incident happens, we can preserve evidence immediately and investigate faster.

Discuss a Retainer

Note: Black Trace Labs provides technical investigation and expert support; we do not provide legal advice. We work under your counsel’s direction when appropriate.

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