Forensic analysis of the Windows telemetry for diagnostics

Abstract

Telemetry is the automated sensing and collection of data from a remote device. It is often used to provide better services for users. Microsoft uses telemetry to periodically collect information about Windows systems and to help improve user experience and fix potential issues. Windows telemetry service functions by creating RBS files on the local system to reliably transfer and manage the telemetry data, and these files can provide useful information in a digital forensic investigation. Combined with the information derived from traditional Windows forensics, investigators can have greater confidence in the evidence derived from various artifacts. It is possible to acquire information that can be confirmed only for live systems, such as the computer hardware serial number, the connection records for external storage devices, and traces of executed processes. This information is included in the RBS files that are created for use in Windows telemetry. In this paper, we introduced how to acquire RBS files telemetry and analyzed the data structure of these RBS files, which are able to determine the types of information that Windows OS have been collected. We also discussed the reliability and the novelty by comparing the conventional artifacts with the RBS files, which could be useful in digital forensic investigation.