A holistic digital forensic analysis of Discord - Storage, memory, and network perspectives

Area of Science:

• Digital Forensics
• Cybersecurity
• Computer Science

Background:

• Social media platforms have grown significantly, attracting criminal exploitation.
• Discord is increasingly used for illicit activities, necessitating forensic examination.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine digital artifacts left by Discord on Windows and Linux systems.
• To assess the effectiveness of storage, memory, and network analysis in Discord forensics.

Main Methods:

• Forensic analysis of Discord remnants on Windows and Linux.
• Utilizing storage, memory, and network analysis techniques.
• Recovery of various user-related data artifacts.

Main Results:

• Crucial artifacts including login/payment details, chat history, and account information were recovered.
• Successful reconstruction of significant user activity was achieved.
• Discord remnants were effectively analyzed across storage, memory, and network data.

Conclusions:

• Discord artifacts provide valuable resources for digital forensic investigations.
• The study demonstrates the feasibility of reconstructing user activity from Discord remnants.
• Forensic examination of social media platforms like Discord is vital for combating cybercrime.