Analyzing Network Traffic

Packet capture is ground truth the endpoint can lie about but the wire cannot: every connection, DNS lookup, and byte transferred is recorded, whether or not the host's logs survived. The analysis is turning a flat capture into a story — who talked to whom, over what protocol, whether the pattern was human or automated, and what left the network. You are reconstructing intent from frames, not reading a verdict off a tool.

When to Use

• A .pcap / .pcapng capture needs forensic review for intrusion evidence
• A suspected C2 beacon must be confirmed and its interval, jitter, and channel characterized
• Data exfiltration is suspected and you need to size it, time it, and name the destination
• Malware network behaviour must be documented from the traffic it actually emitted
• A Zeek notice.log or Suricata eve.json alert needs to be run down to a verdict
• DNS tunneling, a DGA, or anomalous TLS (odd certs, rare JA3, SNI mismatch) is suspected

When NOT to Use