Autopsy Lab: Recover Deleted and Allocated Files in Autopsy

In this digital forensics lab, we walk through the process of analyzing a forensic image of a USB drive using Autopsy, an open-source forensic tool. This tutorial focuses on identifying and extracting image files that may contain stolen trade secrets. The lab covers how to filter and sort files by date, tag relevant evidence, and generate a forensic report—essential skills for cybersecurity, digital forensics, and corporate investigations.

What You’ll Learn in This Lab:
How to create a forensic case in Autopsy
How to load and analyze a disk image
How to filter image files based on modification date
How to tag and extract relevant photos
How to generate a forensic report for legal review
Tools Used:
Autopsy – Open-source digital forensics software
Disk Image (C1Prj03.E01) – Forensic copy of the USB drive
File Type and Date Filters – To locate relevant image files
Scenario Overview:
You are an IT security specialist at Superior Sailmakers, a company that manufactures sails for sailboats. The HR Department has received an anonymous letter containing an old USB drive, alleging that a former employee stole trade secret images from ACE Sailboats before leaving the company. These images were allegedly used to secure a job at a competitor.

Your task is to use Autopsy to examine the USB drive image, identify image files modified in April 2006, extract relevant photos, and generate a forensic report for legal review. This lab simulates a corporate intellectual property theft investigation, helping you build practical forensic analysis skills.

More Digital Forensics Tutorials:
Explore in-depth cybersecurity labs, forensic investigation walkthroughs, and hands-on IT security training. Subscribe for regular content covering digital forensics, cybersecurity certifications, ethical hacking, and real-world cyber investigations.

Have you worked with Autopsy before? Share your experience or ask questions in the comments.

#DigitalForensics #Cybersecurity #ITSecurity #AutopsyForensics #ComputerForensics #TradeSecretTheft #IncidentResponse #USBForensics #CyberSecTraining #EthicalHacking