An investigator is examining a compromised system and comes across some files that have been compressed with a packer. The investigator knows that these files contain malicious content, but cannot access them due to a password protection mechanism. The investigator does not have the password. Which approach is the most suitable for accessing the contents of the packed files?
When faced with a password-protected file, the most direct approach to access its contents is to attempt to crack the password using a brute force attack. This method focuses specifically on overcoming the password protection mechanism to access the data inside the packed files. While other methods like dynamic analysis, static analysis, or reverse engineering may eventually help, they do not directly address the immediate barrier of the password protection.
B > Assuming the investigator does not know the tool that has been used to pack the file and doesn't have the tool to unpack it, the investigator will not be able to access it even with a cracked password.
Keyword(s): "suitable for accessing the contents of the packed file", so a crack should be attempted, however unsuccessful.