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Timeline Construction Using OS and Memory Artifacts

Lesson 24/47 | Study Time: 20 Min

Timeline construction using OS and memory artifacts integrates timestamps from diverse sources like file metadata, event logs, registry entries, and RAM structures to create chronological event sequences that reveal incident progression, attacker actions, and system behaviors.

This process merges disk-based persistence evidence with volatile runtime data, enabling investigators to correlate activities across acquisition phases for comprehensive reconstruction.

Principles of Timeline Construction

Timelines order events by extracting and normalizing timestamps from multiple artifacts, filtering noise to highlight relevant sequences.

Extract MACB (Modified, Accessed, Changed, Born) times from filesystems, event IDs from logs, and creation offsets from memory. Normalization converts formats (FAT vs. NTFS epochs); super timelines combine all into single views with color-coding by source.

Tools prioritize anomalies via filtering (e.g., unknown processes during breach window).

Key OS Artifacts for Timelines

OS structures provide foundational timestamps linking user actions to system states.


Correlate across: File creation (MFT) → Execution (Prefetch) → Network logon (auth.log).


Memory Artifacts in Timeline Integration

RAM dumps contribute runtime context absent from disk.

Process creation times from _EPROCESS lists align with disk prefetch; network sockets show active C2 during file modifications. Volatility plugins (pslist, netscan) export timestamps; merge with disk super timelines via epoch conversion. Detects short-lived malware missed by logs.

Memory-specific:


1. VAD trees: DLL loads correlating to injected code timestamps.

2. Socket states: Connection establishment vs. exfiltration logs.

Tools and Workflow for Super Timelines

Automated pipelines generate unified views from heterogeneous sources.


1. Acquisition: Disk image + RAM dump.

2. Parsing: Plaso/log2timeline extracts bodyfile (time, source, desc).

3. Timeline Generation: psort filters by window; Timeline Explorer visualizes.

4. Analysis: Color-code (green=normal, red=suspicious); zoom to anomalies.

5. Correlation: Link memory process PID to disk event ID.


Commercial: Magnet AXIOM, EnCase integrate memory modules.

Practical Application and Challenges

Timelines answer "what happened when" in breaches.

Ransomware example: Memory socket (Tier 2 volatile) → Prefetch execution → MFT encryption timestamps → Event 7045 service install. Challenges: Clock skew, timezone mismatches, anti-forensics (timestomping)—mitigate via multi-source validation and anomaly baselines.

Layered approach: Macro (days) → Micro (hours) zoom reveals sequences; export for reports with screenshots.

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Alexander Cruise

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Class Sessions

1- Evolution of Digital Crime and Cyber Forensics 2- Key Terminology and Scope 3- Digital Evidence Lifecycle and Forensic Principles 4- Legal, Regulatory, and Standards Context 5- Roles and Career Paths in Computer and Cyber Forensics 6- Structured Digital Investigation Methodologies 7- Scoping and Planning an Investigation 8- Evidence Sources in Enterprise Environments 9- Documentation, Case Notes, and Evidence Tracking 10- Working with Multidisciplinary Teams 11- Computer and Storage Architecture for Investigators 12- File System Structures and Artifacts 13- File and Artifact Recovery 14- Common User-Activity Artifacts 15- Principles of Forensically Sound Acquisition 16- Acquisition Strategies 17- Volatile vs Non-Volatile Data Acquisition 18- Handling Encrypted and Locked Systems 19- Evidence Handling, Transport, and Storage 20- Windows Forensics Essentials 21- Linux and Unix-Like System Forensics 22- macOS and Modern Desktop Environments 23- Memory Forensics Concepts 24- Timeline Construction Using OS and Memory Artifacts 25- Network Forensics Fundamentals 26- Enterprise Logging and Telemetry 27- Cloud Forensics (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS) 28- Email and Messaging Investigations 29- Timeline Building from Heterogeneous Logs 30- Modern Malware and Ransomware Landscape 31- Malware Forensics Concepts 32- Host-Level Artifacts of Compromise 33- Ransomware Incident Artifacts 34- Dark Web and Anonymous Network Forensics 35- Common Anti-Forensics Techniques 36- Detection of Anti-Forensics 37- Countering Anti-Forensics 38- Resilient Evidence Collection Strategies 39- Incident Response Frameworks and Phases 40- Forensics-Driven Incident Response 41- Threat Hunting Linked with Forensics 42- Post-Incident Activities 43- Forensic Report Structure 44- Writing for Multiple Audiences 45- Presenting and Defending Findings 46- Ethics, Confidentiality, and Professional Conduct 47- Continuous Learning and Certification Pathways

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