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Live acquisition

Definition

Forensic data collection performed on a running, powered-on system. Captures volatile data and allows imaging of encrypted volumes while decryption keys are in memory. Carries a small risk of altering the system state compared to dead-box acquisition.

Related terms

Chain of custody
The documented chronological record of who collected, handled, transferred, and examined a piece of evidence. For digital evidence, chain of custody includes...
Preservation order
A legal instrument directing a service provider to retain specific data for a defined period pending receipt of a production order or...
Triage
The structured process of evaluating an alert to determine whether it is a genuine security incident and, if so, what severity level...
Volatile data
Any digital information that is lost when power is removed or the system state changes. Examples include RAM contents, CPU register values,...
Write blocker
A hardware or software device interposed between a digital storage medium and the forensic workstation that prevents any write commands from reaching...

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