CLOUD LOG FORENSIC ANALYZER: A RULE-BASED INVESTIGATION SYSTEM FOR CLOUD ENVIRONMENTS

The Cloud Log Forensic Analyzer significantly contributes to cloud forensics and cybersecurity education. This project demonstrates that a thorough log analysis and investigation tool can be created as an open-source Python application, available to security professionals, researchers, and students at no cost.  The system meets all stated objectives: it collects AWS CloudTrail events through the boto3 API, normalizes different log data into a single format, detects six categories of attack patterns with appropriate severity classifications, builds a forensic event timeline, computes cryptographic evidence hashes, and generates PDF investigation reports.  The nine-stage automated forensic pipeline separates concerns clearly, allowing each part to be tested, modified, and expanded independently. The attack simulation framework enables the system to serve dual purposes: as a forensic investigation tool for real AWS environments and as an educational platform for learning cloud forensic concepts through hands-on experience.  Testing confirmed that the system accurately identifies all simulated attack patterns with 100% detection accuracy and generates reliable evidence with verified cryptographic integrity. The PDF reports produced are professional, thorough, and suitable for presentation to management, legal teams, and regulatory authorities.  Comparisons with existing commercial and native cloud tools show that the Cloud Log Forensic Analyzer offers unique capabilities, particularly in PDF forensic reporting and evidence hashing, which are not available in enterprise SIEM platforms or native AWS security services, all at no cost.  The project successfully integrates incident handling principles from NIST SP 800-61, MITRE ATT&CK mapping, evidence hashing, chain-of-custody generation, and professional report generation into a single automated workflow. In summary, this project has effectively provided the cybersecurity community with a practical open-source tool that connects cloud log analysis and formal digital forensics, making cloud forensics more accessible to a broader range of practitioners and learners.   

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