ToolsFebruary 9, 20261 min readby 0xt0pus

FTK Imager

Forensic disk imaging and evidence extraction tool for creating and analyzing disk images

#forensics#dfir#disk-imaging

FTK Imager

Description

FTK Imager is a forensic disk imaging and evidence extraction tool used during incident response. It allows analysts to create forensic images of drives, preview disk contents, and extract files from damaged or intact disk images. It is one of the primary forensics image capturing tools in the standard IR toolkit.

Usage 1: Extract Files from a Damaged Disk Image

Open a damaged HDD image in FTK Imager to recover files and partitions. In the Cybertalent "Partition Lost" challenge, a damaged HDD with lost partitions was opened in FTK Imager to extract a flag.rar file.

Steps:

1. Launch FTK Imager
2. File -> Add Evidence Item
3. Select "Image File" as the source
4. Browse to the disk image file
5. Navigate the file tree to locate files
6. Right-click on the target file -> Export Files

Usage 2: Forensic Evidence Acquisition for Incident Response

Create forensic disk images and capture evidence during incident response investigations. FTK Imager is listed as a standard tool in the IR go-bag.

Steps:

1. Launch FTK Imager
2. File -> Create Disk Image
3. Select source (Physical Drive, Logical Drive, Image File, etc.)
4. Choose output format (E01, DD/Raw, AFF)
5. Specify destination path and image filename
6. Start the imaging process

Notes

  • FTK Imager can open and analyze damaged drives where partitions are lost
  • Supports multiple forensic image formats (E01, DD, AFF, raw)
  • Used alongside Autopsy and EnCase for complete forensic analysis workflows
  • Part of the standard IR toolkit as referenced in CCD training materials
  • Can verify image integrity using hash values (MD5/SHA1)