112-57 Exam Dumps - EC-Council Digital Forensics Essentials (DFE)

In the NTFS file system, theMaster File Table (MFT)is the core metadata structure that tracksevery file and directoryon the volume. NTFS implements this as a special system file named$MFT(shown here as$mft). Each file or folder on an NTFS partition is represented by at least oneMFT record entry, which stores essential metadata such as file name(s), timestamps, security identifiers/ACL references, file size, attributes, and pointers to the file’s data runs (or, for very small files, the content can be stored resident inside the record). Because it is the authoritative “index” of file objects, forensic examiners rely heavily on $MFT to reconstruct user activity and file history, including evidence of deleted files (when records are marked unused but remnants of attributes may remain) and timeline building from timestamp attributes.

The other options are different NTFS metadata files with narrower purposes:$LogFilerecords NTFS transaction logs to support recovery,$Volumestores volume-level information (like version/label), and$Quotamanages disk quota tracking. None of these contain a record for every file on the system. Therefore, the NTFS system file that contains a record of every file present is$mft (B).

In Windows forensics, the Registry is organized into logical root keys (“hives”) that aggregate configuration and security data. The items named in the question—SAM,SECURITY, andSOFTWARE—aresystem-wide registry hivesstored on disk (typically under the system’s configuration directory) and loaded at runtime underHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE (HKLM). Investigators rely on these hives because they contain high-value evidence: theSAMhive stores local account database information (including user and group identifiers and credential-related material), theSECURITYhive holds system security policy and LSA-related settings, and theSOFTWAREhive contains installed software, application configuration, and many operating system settings relevant for program execution and persistence analysis.

Tools likeFTK Imagercan extract these hives (or their live-memory representations) during triage to preserve volatile context and enable offline parsing while maintaining evidentiary integrity. The other root keys do not match these specific hives:HKEY_CURRENT_USERis per-user profile data,HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIGreflects current hardware profile, andHKEY_CLASSES_ROOTis primarily file association/COM class mapping (largely derived from HKLM\Software\Classes and HKCU\Software\Classes). Therefore, the correct hive root that provides SAM, SECURITY, and SOFTWARE subkeys isHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE (B).

In the UEFI/PI boot architecture, the phase that runsimmediately after power-on or resetis theSEC (Security) phase. Digital forensics references include UEFI phases because firmware-level activity can affect the trustworthiness of the platform (e.g., bootkits, persistence, and measured boot artifacts). The SEC phase is responsible for executing the earliest initialization instructions, handlingplatform reset events, and establishing a minimal, controlled execution environment. Critically, SEC prepares the system so it canlocate, verify, and hand off controlto the next stage—PEI (Pre-EFI Initialization)—by setting up temporary memory and foundational CPU/chipset state required for PEI modules to execute.

The wording in the question precisely matches SEC responsibilities: “initialization code executed after powering on,” “manages platform reset events,” and “sets up the system so it can find, validate, install, and run the PEI.” By contrast,PEIfocuses on discovering and initializing permanent memory and producing the Hand-Off Blocks for DXE;DXEloads drivers and boot services; andBDSselects and launches the boot option. Therefore, the phase described is theSecurity phase (SEC), which corresponds to optionD.

Apple’s original Macintosh computers initially usedMFS (Macintosh File System), which had important limitations, including a relatively flat directory model and constraints that became problematic as storage sizes and file organization needs grew. To address these limitations, Apple introducedHFS (Hierarchical File System)—explicitly designed to replace MFS and provide a truehierarchical directory structure(folders within folders), improved metadata handling, and better scalability for the Macintosh platform. From a digital forensics perspective, this historical transition matters because examiners may encounter legacy Macintosh media or disk images where understanding the file system family helps interpret catalog structures, allocation behavior, and metadata artifacts.

The other options do not fit the “replace MFS” requirement.NTFSis Microsoft’s Windows file system.APFS (Apple File System)is Apple’s modern file system introduced much later (primarily for SSDs, with features like snapshots and strong encryption support) and it replaced HFS+ in newer macOS versions—not MFS.Filesystem Hierarchy Standard (FHS)is a UNIX/Linux directory layout standard, not a Macintosh disk file system. Therefore, the Apple-developed file system that replaced MFS isHierarchical File System (HFS), which corresponds toOption D.

The scenario describes an automated, trial-and-error attempt that triesall possible combinations of usernames and passwordsuntil a correct credential pair is found. This is the defining characteristic of abrute-force attack. In digital forensics terminology, brute force is a direct password-guessing method that relies on exhaustive attempts (or systematically generated candidates) rather than tricking the user or exploiting a software flaw. Investigators commonly recognize brute-force activity through artifacts such as repeated authentication failures in security logs, high-frequency login attempts from a single IP or distributed sources, account lockout events, and abnormal spikes in authentication traffic. In banking and web environments, it may also appear as repeated POST requests to login endpoints with varying credential pairs and consistent user-agent patterns, sometimes accompanied by throttling or CAPTCHA triggers.

The other options do not match the described “attempting all possible combinations” behavior.Phishingobtains credentials by deception (fake emails/sites). ATrojan horsesteals data by running malicious code on the victim’s system.Data manipulationfocuses on altering data integrity rather than credential guessing. Therefore, the correct attack type isBrute-force attack (A).