Mastering DFIR: Automate Memory & Disk Forensics with This All-in-One PowerShell Script

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Introduction:

Digital Forensics and Incident Response (DFIR) demands rapid, reliable collection of volatile memory and disk artifacts. A newly released PowerShell script integrates MAGNET’s forensic toolkit—DumpIt, RAM Capture, Response CLI, and Encrypted Disk Detector—to automate memory imaging, triage data capture, BitLocker key recovery, and integrity hashing. This script supports x86, x64, and ARM64 architectures, with profiles ranging from a 2-minute QuickTriage to a full system acquisition.

Learning Objectives:

  • Automate memory image capture using MAGNET DumpIt and RAM Capture across legacy and modern Windows systems.
  • Execute customizable triage profiles (volatile data, system files, pagefile, full RAM) for efficient incident response.
  • Recover BitLocker recovery keys and detect full disk encryption while storing forensic data to USB or network shares.

You Should Know:

1. Understanding the DFIR Collection Script Architecture

This PowerShell script acts as a wrapper around MAGNET’s command-line forensic tools. It checks system architecture (x86/x64/ARM64), selects the appropriate DumpIt binary, and runs concurrent collections based on user-defined profiles. The script logs every action, calculates SHA-256 hashes of captured files, and generates a pre-collection snapshot of volatile data (running processes, network connections, logged-on users).

Step‑by‑step guide to inspect and modify the script:

  1. Download the script from your DFIR repository (e.g., GitHub or internal share).
  2. Open PowerShell ISE as Administrator and review variables: $OutputPath, $LogFile, $ToolPath.
  3. Test tool availability: `Test-Path “C:\Tools\Magnet\ResponseCLI.exe”` – ensure all MAGNET binaries are present.
  4. For network storage, modify `$NetworkShare = “\\server\share\case001″` and validate credentials with net use.
  5. Run with `-WhatIf` parameter (if implemented) to preview actions without executing.

2. Installing MAGNET Forensic Prerequisites on Windows

The script requires MAGNET DumpIt, MAGNET RAM Capture (for legacy OS), MAGNET Response CLI, and MAGNET Encrypted Disk Detector. These tools are free for DFIR use from MAGNET Forensics.

Step‑by‑step setup:

  1. Download the MAGNET Forensics Incident Response Suite (or individual tools) from MAGNET’s official site.

2. Extract all executables to `C:\DFIR_Tools\`.

  1. Verify binary signatures: `Get-AuthenticodeSignature “C:\DFIR_Tools\DumpIt.exe”` – ensure “Valid”.
  2. Add the folder to Windows PATH: ` 
    ::SetEnvironmentVariable("Path", $env:Path + ";C:\DFIR_Tools", "Machine")`
5. Disable Windows Defender real-time scanning for the collection folder temporarily (careful in production):
[bash]
Add-MpPreference -ExclusionPath "C:\DFIR_Tools", "D:\ForensicsOutput"

6. Test DumpIt manually: `.\DumpIt.exe /accepteula /output D:\memory.raw`

3. Configuring Storage: USB Drive vs. Network Location

The script can store collected evidence to a removable USB drive or a remote network share. Network collection reduces tampering risk but requires stable connectivity.

Step‑by‑step configuration for USB:

  1. Insert a forensically clean USB drive (exFAT or NTFS, at least 2x RAM size).
  2. Identify drive letter: `Get-Disk | Where-Object BusType -eq “USB” | Get-Partition`

3. Set script variable: `$StoragePath = “F:\Case_20260419″`

4. The script will automatically create timestamped subfolders.

Step‑by‑step configuration for network share:

  1. Create a dedicated share on a secure server (SMB 3.0+).
  2. Grant write access to the incident responder’s domain account.

3. In PowerShell before script execution:

$cred = Get-Credential "DOMAIN\responder"
New-PSDrive -Name "CaseShare" -PSProvider FileSystem -Root "\fileserver\dfir" -Credential $cred

4. Set script variable: `$StoragePath = “CaseShare:\Case_20260419″`

  1. Ensure logging of network transfer: `robocopy $LocalCache $StoragePath /LOG+:network_copy.log`

4. Running Collection Profiles for Different Incident Scenarios

The script offers six profiles. Each profile is a combination of collection modules (RAM, pagefile, volatile data, system artifacts). Below are the commands to invoke each profile directly (assuming the script is named Invoke-DFIRCollection.ps1).

Step‑by‑step profile execution:

  • QuickTriage (no RAM, only volatile + system files, ~2 min):

`.\Invoke-DFIRCollection.ps1 -Profile QuickTriage -OutputPath E:\Case`

  • Volatile (network connections, registry hives, process list):

`.\Invoke-DFIRCollection.ps1 -Profile Volatile -OutputPath E:\Case`

  • RAMOnly (full physical memory dump):

`.\Invoke-DFIRCollection.ps1 -Profile RAMOnly -OutputPath E:\Case`

  • RAMPage (RAM + pagefile.sys):

`.\Invoke-DFIRCollection.ps1 -Profile RAMPage -OutputPath E:\Case`

  • RAMSystem (RAM + critical system files like SAM, SECURITY, NTUSER.DAT):

`.\Invoke-DFIRCollection.ps1 -Profile RAMSystem -OutputPath E:\Case`

  • Default (Full Triage) (RAM + pagefile + volatile + system artifacts):

`.\Invoke-DFIRCollection.ps1 -Profile Default -OutputPath E:\Case`

Real-time monitoring: The script uses `Write-Progress` to show percentage and estimated time remaining. For verbose logging, add -Verbose.

5. BitLocker Key Recovery and Encrypted Disk Detection

During collection, the script executes MAGNET Encrypted Disk Detector to identify any locked or unlocked encrypted volumes. It then attempts to recover BitLocker recovery keys from the registry, Active Directory, or Microsoft Account (if available).

Step‑by‑step key recovery process:

  1. The script runs: `.\EncryptedDiskDetector.exe /list /csv > encrypted_volumes.csv`
    2. For each encrypted volume, it extracts recovery key from:

– Registry: `HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\BitLocker\`
– PowerShell: `(Get-BitLockerVolume -MountPoint “C:”).KeyProtector`
3. If keys are found, they are saved to `BitLocker_Recovery_Keys.txt` and hashed.

4. To manually recover a key from AD:

`Get-ADObject -Filter “objectClass -eq ‘msFVE-RecoveryInformation'” -Properties msFVE-RecoveryPassword`

  1. For TPM-only protectors, the script notes that physical extraction is not possible without the PIN.

Warning: Never unlock a suspect drive in place; image the encrypted drive first using `dd` or FTK Imager.

6. Generating Forensic Reports with Integrity Hashes

After collection, the script produces a comprehensive HTML report containing:
– Pre-collection volatile data (timestamped)
– List of collected files with SHA-256 hashes
– MAGNET Response CLI execution logs
– Encrypted disk detection results
– BitLocker keys found

Step‑by‑step to generate and verify report:

  1. The script automatically creates `DFIR_Report__.html` in the output folder.

2. To manually generate hashes for verification:

Get-ChildItem -Path E:\Case -Recurse -File | Get-FileHash -Algorithm SHA256 | Export-Csv -Path hashes.csv

3. Compare with original hashes from the script’s log: `Compare-Object (Import-Csv hashes.csv) (Import-Csv script_hashes.csv)`
4. For Linux examiners, verify using: `sha256sum memory.raw >> checksums.txt`
5. Store the report along with a signed chain of custody form.

7. Cross-Platform Considerations: Linux Memory Acquisition Alternative

While the PowerShell script is Windows-centric, DFIR often involves Linux systems. Use these commands to achieve similar collection on a Linux target.

Step‑by‑step Linux memory and disk forensics:

1. Capture RAM using `dd` or `avml`:

`sudo dd if=/dev/mem of=/mnt/usb/linux_memory.raw bs=1M` (caution: /dev/mem may have restrictions)

Better: `sudo avml linux_memory.raw` (avml from Microsoft)

2. Collect volatile data:

ps auxf > volatile_ps.txt
netstat -tunap > volatile_net.txt
lsof > volatile_lsof.txt

3. Hash everything: `sha256sum linux_memory.raw > hashes.txt`

  1. For full disk imaging: `sudo dd if=/dev/sda of=/mnt/usb/sda_image.dd bs=4M status=progress`
    5. Encrypted disk detection (LUKS): `sudo cryptsetup luksDump /dev/sda1`

What Undercode Say:

  • Automation is non-negotiable in modern IR. The PowerShell script reduces human error and speeds up evidence collection from minutes to seconds, especially with the QuickTriage profile.
  • Integrity and chain of custody are built-in. By hashing every artifact and logging pre-collection volatile data, the script produces court-ready evidence—critical for legal proceedings.

The script elegantly bridges MAGNET’s commercial tools with open-source flexibility. However, responders must test it extensively in their environment; misconfigured network paths or missing binaries can silently fail. The real power lies in customizing the profiles—adding YARA scans or integrating with Velociraptor would elevate it to an enterprise-grade collector. For defenders, this script is a reminder that incident response can be both thorough and efficient when leveraging the right tooling.

Prediction:

As DFIR moves toward cloud and hybrid environments, expect this script to evolve with modules for AWS EC2 memory snapshots and Azure disk encryption key extraction. Microsoft will likely integrate similar automation directly into Defender for Endpoint’s Live Response, but open-source wrappers like this will remain essential for cross‑platform and air‑gapped networks. The next frontier is real‑time memory analysis during collection, reducing the need for full dumps.

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