How to download the collected evidence and artifacts in Binalyze AIR?

Introduction

Binalyze AIR provides two separate mechanisms for storing collected evidence, artifacts, and data. The first and default method is to use the local storage of the asset and server machines' file system. The second method uses the remote network services that we call Evidence Repositories, such as SFTP, FTPS, SMB Amazon S3 Buckets, and Azure Blob Storage.

The location of the storage of the evidence and artifacts is defined in the Policy section in the Binalyze AIR Console. Since the Acquisition tasks are directly bonded to these policies, investigators and analysts can change the type (Local or Evidence Repository) and path of the collected evidence and artifacts by using the options fields in the Policy screen.

The exact location and path of the evidence and artifacts can be viewed through the Evidence URL value, which is located under the Metadata page that is accessible via a button shown under the Status of the associated Task.

The evidence and artifacts collection and storage flow is summarized as follows.

1. An Acquisition Task is created on the Binalyze AIR Console.

2. Binalyze AIR responder installed on asset machines connects to Binalyze AIR Console to pull the task and task details.

3. Binalyze AIR responder installed on asset machines run the Acquire Task on the asset and collects the evidence and artifacts.

4. Binalyze AIR responder stores the collected evidence and artifacts according to the configuration options defined in the Policies section.

   1. If the Local option is selected, the collected evidence and artifacts will be stored in the file system location defined in the configuration options.

      
   2. If the Evidence Repository option is selected, the collected evidence and artifacts will be stored in a temporary location on the local file system. Then the asset machine directly connects to the remote network service/server and uploads the evidence and artifacts to the location defined in the configuration options, and all the evidence and artifacts will be deleted from the asset. The flow is depicted in the picture below.

Download The Evidence and Artifacts from Local Storage

Two separate methods can be used to download collected evidence and artifacts, which are stored in the local file system of the asset machines. Investigators and analysts can use Binalyze AIR built-in remote management tool, interACT, or their favorite remote management tool to connect and download the requested evidence and artifacts.

The default location of all collected evidence and artifacts are listed below according to the operating systems. The default location can be changed by editing the policies.

Windows	C:\Binalyze\AIR\Cases
Linux	/opt/binalyze/air/Cases
macOS	/opt/binalyze/air/Cases

By Using interACT

1. Find the task of interest. The relevant task can be viewed either by navigating through the Global Tasks Tab or by selecting the associated assets from the asset listings and then locating the related task under the asset details page.

2. Find the exact path of the evidence and the artifacts that are in need of downloading. Click the Metadata button under this Status on the page and view the value of the Evidence URL. It is also possible to directly copy the value of the Evidence URL by clicking the copy button, which is located at the beginning of the Evidence URL line.

3. Connect to the machine with interACT by clicking the interACT button, which is located under the asset details page.

4. Navigate to the path provided with the Evidence URL by using the cd command.

5. Download the associated file by using the get command provided by the interACT.

By Using Remote Management tools

1. Find the task of interest. The relevant task can be viewed either by navigating through the Global Tasks Tab or by selecting the associated assets from the asset listings and then locating the related task under the asset details page.

2. Find the exact path of the evidence and artifacts that are in need of downloading. Click the Metadata button under this Status on the page and view the value of the Evidence URL. It is also possible to directly copy the value of the Evidence URL by clicking the copy button, which is located at the beginning of the Evidence URL line.

3. Connect to the asset with your favorite remote management tool. This tool may vary depending on the operating system installed on the asset. The most commonly used tools are SSH, Remote Desktop Manager, VNC, etc.

4. Navigate to the path provided with the Evidence URL by using the cd command.

5. Download the associated file by using the commands and activities provided by the remote management tool.

Download The Evidence and Artifacts from Evidence Repositories

1. Find the task of interest. The relevant task can be viewed either by navigating through the Global Tasks Tab or by selecting the associated assets from the asset listings and then locating the related task under the assetdetails page.

2. Download the compressed/encrypted zip file by clicking the Evidence URL The downloadable link will be created and bonded directly to the Evidence URL. Click the Metadata button under this Status on the page and then click on the Evidence URL to download the zip file that includes the chosen evidence and artifacts.