Mastering Forensic Timelines: Tools and Techniques for DFIR

Forensic Timeliner

Forensic Timeliner is a high-speed forensic timeline engine designed for Windows forensic artifact CSV output, aiding Digital Forensics and Incident Response (DFIR) investigators. It consolidates CSV output from various triage evidence sources, including EZ Tools, Kape, Axiom, Hayabusa, Chainsaw, and Nirsoft into a unified timeline.

New Features in Forensic Timeliner v2.2

• Interactive Menu Enhancements: Added prompts to display filter configurations for MFT and Event Logs.
• Keyword Tagging Support: An interactive option to enable the Timeline Explorer keyword tagger is included, which generates a .tle_sess file with tagged rows based on user-defined keyword groups.

Main Features

• Combine CSV output from various tools such as EZ Tools, Kape, Axiom, Chainsaw, and Nirsoft.
• Automatic CSV discovery from triage directories, with YAML configuration.
• Timeline enrichment with keyword tagging ready for use with Timeline Explorer.
• RFC-4180-compliant export compatible with tools like Timeline Explorer.

Command Line Usage

For quick setup, download the executable, and run:

ForensicTimeliner.exe --Interactive
ForensicTimeliner.exe --BaseDir C:\triage\hostname --ALL --OutputFile C:\timeline.csv

Timeline Output Structure

The output is structured as follows:

DateTime,TimestampInfo,ArtifactName,Tool,Description,DataDetails,DataPath,FileExtension,EventId,User,Computer,FileSize,IPAddress,SourceAddress,DestinationAddress,SHA1,Count,EvidencePath

Supported Tools

• EZ Tools: Comprehensive Windows artifact analysis.
• Hayabusa: Sigma-based Windows event log analysis.
• Chainsaw: MITRE ATT&CK focused event log analysis.
• Axiom: Magnet Forensics comprehensive artifact extraction.
• Nirsoft: Cross-browser history analysis and Windows utility artifacts.

Mastering Plaso

Plaso is a timeline analysis framework within the SIFT Workstation, designed for DFIR investigations. It consolidates various evidence sources, automating the log analysis process and generating chronological timelines.

Importance of Timeline Analysis

Timelines play a crucial role in incident investigations by providing detailed context and helping to identify key events. Plaso assists analysts in detecting compromise events, tracing lateral movement, and correlating system changes with unauthorized activities.

Installing and Running Plaso

Plaso operates in two stages:

1. Parsing Evidence: Use the log2timeline command to create a Plaso storage file.
2. Generating Timeline: Use the psort command to extract and filter events.

Example commands:

log2timeline.py case_analysis.plaso /mnt/evidence/image.dd
psort.py -o L2tcsv -w timeline.csv case_analysis.plaso

Supported Data Sources

Plaso can parse a wide variety of data formats, including:

• Windows Event Logs
• Browser histories
• Document metadata
• User activity logs

The Sleuth Kit (TSK)

The Sleuth Kit is a suite of command-line tools for analyzing disk images in DFIR. It allows forensic investigators to examine file systems and recover deleted data while maintaining the integrity of the original evidence.

Key Components

• mmls: View partition layout.
• fls: List files and directories.
• icat: Extract file data.

Example usage:

mmls disk.img
fls -r -m / disk.img > filelist.txt

Importance of Disk Imaging

Disk imaging preserves a snapshot of digital storage media, enabling detailed analysis without altering original evidence. TSK facilitates this by allowing investigators to mount and analyze disk images efficiently.

Volatility Framework

Volatility is a memory forensics framework crucial for analyzing volatile data. It allows investigators to extract and analyze memory dumps, revealing processes, network connections, and potentially malicious behavior.

Setting Up Volatility

To use Volatility, first identify the image profile, which informs the framework about the operating system and kernel version:

volatility -f memory.raw imageinfo

Commonly Used Plugins

• pslist: View active processes.
• dlllist: List loaded DLLs.
• cmdscan: Command line history extraction.

Example command for extracting active processes:

volatility -f memory.raw --profile=Win7SP1x64 pslist

Cyber Security News

Recent cyber security incidents highlight ongoing threats:

Spear Phishing Attack with DarkCloud Malware

On September 25, 2025, eSentire’s Threat Response Unit reported a spear phishing attack utilizing DarkCloud malware to capture keystrokes and FTP credentials. More details can be found here.

TamperedChef Malware

Field Effect’s Managed Detection and Response team identified TamperedChef malware targeting productivity tools. For further information, visit this link.

Jaguar Land Rover Cyber Breach

Jaguar Land Rover has detailed its operational recovery following a cyber breach involving a zero-click vulnerability in WhatsApp. More information is available here.