Test Results for Hardware Write Block Device: Coolgear SS ...

March 2020

Test Results for Hardware Write Block Device:

Coolgear SS-127ASD USB 3.0 to SATA/IDE Adapter with Write-Protection

(Linux)

Federated Testing Suite for Hardware Write Blocking

Contents

Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1

How to Read This Report ............................................................................................................... 2

1

Device Description.................................................................................................................. 3

2

Testing Organization ............................................................................................................... 3

3

Results Summary .................................................................................................................... 3

4

Test Environment .................................................................................................................... 4

5

Test Result Details by Case .................................................................................................... 5

5.1

6

FT-HWB-SATA ............................................................................................................... 5

5.1.1

Test Case Description ............................................................................................... 5

5.1.2

Test Drive Description .............................................................................................. 5

5.1.3

Test Evaluation Criteria ............................................................................................ 5

5.1.4

Test Case Results ...................................................................................................... 5

5.1.5

Case Summary .......................................................................................................... 5

Appendix: Additional Details ................................................................................................. 8

6.1

FT-HWB-SATA ............................................................................................................... 8

6.1.1

6.2

USB 3 ........................................................................................................................ 8

Test Setup & Analysis Tool Versions .............................................................................. 9

ii

Introduction

The Computer Forensics Tool Testing (CFTT) program is a joint project of the Department of Homeland

Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T), the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), and

the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Programs Office and Information

Technology Laboratory (ITL). CFTT is supported by other organizations, including the Federal Bureau

of Investigation, the U.S. Department of Defense Cyber Crime Center, and U.S. Internal Revenue Service

Criminal Investigation Division Electronic Crimes Program, as well as the DHS Bureau of Immigration

and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and U.S. Secret Service. The objective

of the CFTT program is to provide measurable assurance to practitioners, researchers, and other

applicable users that the tools used in computer forensics investigations provide accurate results.

Accomplishing this requires the development of specifications and test methods for computer forensics

tools and subsequent testing of specific tools against those specifications.

Test results provide the information necessary for developers to improve tools, users to make informed

choices, and the legal community and others to understand the tools¡¯ capabilities. The CFTT approach to

testing computer forensics tools is based on well-recognized methodologies for conformance and quality

testing. Interested parties in the computer forensics community can review and comment on the

specifications and test methods posted on the CFTT website ().

This document reports the results from testing the hardware write blocking function of the Coolgear SS127ASD USB 3.0 to SATA/IDE Adapter with Write-Protection using the CFTT Federated Testing Test

Suite for Hardware Write Blocking, Version 4.

Federated Testing is an expansion of the CFTT program to provide forensic investigators and labs with

test materials for tool testing and to support shared test reports. The goal of Federated Testing is to help

forensic investigators to test the tools that they use in their labs and to enable sharing of tool test results.

CFTT¡¯s Federated Testing Forensic Tool Testing Environment and included test suites can be

downloaded from and used to test forensic tools. The

results can be optionally shared with CFTT, reviewed by CFTT staff, and then shared with the

community.

Test results from this and other tools can be found on DHS¡¯s computer forensics web page,

.

How to Read This Report

This report is organized into the following sections:

1. Tested Device Description: The device name, version, and vendor information.

2. Testing Organization: Contact information and approvals.

3. Results Summary: This section identifies any significant anomalies observed in the test runs.

This section provides a narrative of key findings identifying where the device meets expectations

and provides a summary of any ways the device did not meet expectations. The section also

provides any observations of interest about the device or about testing the device including any

observed limitations on device use.

4. Test Environment: Description of hardware and software used in device testing.

5. Test Result Details by Case: Automatically generated test results that identify anomalies.

6. Appendix: Additional details: Additional details for each test case.

March 2020

Page 2 of 9

Coolgear USB 3.0 to SATA/IDE

Adapter with Write-Protection

Federated Testing Test Results for Hardware Write Block Device:

Coolgear SS-127ASD USB 3.0 to SATA/IDE Adapter

1 Device Description

Device Name: SS-127ASD USB 3.0 to SATA/IDE Adapter with Write-Protection

Manufacturer Contact:

Manufacturer: Coolgear Inc

Address:

5120 110th Avenue North

Clearwater, Florida 33760

Tel:

(888) 688-2188

WWW:



2 Testing Organization

Organization conducting test: Nova Southeastern University

Contact: lh1490@mynsu.nova.edu

Report date: February 15th, 2020

Authored by: Lazaro Herrera

3 Results Summary

The Coolgear tool is a consumer-grade USB to SATA / IDE device that contains two independent

switches for 'write-protecting' media that can be procured for roughly $50 USD. The tool contains

features that make it difficult to accidentally switch from 'write-protect' to 'write' mode (device must be

powered off and powered back on). The manufacturer claims the write-protect functionality is guaranteed

under Windows and makes no claims about any write-protect security under Linux. The testing

documented by this report proves that the device is not forensically sound under Linux environments. In

the testing, using an Ubuntu Linux environment, the device failed to block several write commands when

write-protecting a SATA drive. Further testing may confirm or disprove manufacturer claims on

Windows forensics viability.

March 2020

Page 3 of 9

Coolgear USB 3.0 to SATA/IDE

Adapter with Write-Protection

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