Happy New Year! A quick update on the current state and features of the Thanatology project, as well as its goals for 2026. If you want to learn more about this project, there is a blog post series about it starting here
Discover the current features of the Thanatology Project by watching the following video.
This blog post is part of the Thanatology blog post series. If you haven鈥檛 checked it out, I recommend reading the following first:
In the previous part, we discovered how to perform partition discovery for the MBR and GPT layouts. The next step in our digital forensics examination process of a disk image is to identify the type of Filesystem present on a given partition and extract relevant data. In this blog post, we will first dive into the concept of file systems in general. Next, we will explore how the Exhume toolkit is designed to propose a way to understand multiple kinds of file systems and introduce an abstraction module. Finally, some updates on the Thanatology project will be proposed.
This blogpost is part of the Thanatology blogpost series. If you haven鈥檛 check it out, I recommend reading the following first:
In this blogpost, we will dive into the concepts of GPT and MBR partition schemes and explore them using Exhume Partitions.
This blogpost is part of the Thanatology blogpost series. If you haven鈥檛 check it out, I recommend reading the following first:
In this blogpost, we will dive into the concepts of disk images and how digital forensics examiners can use the Exhume toolkit to read data transparently from different formats. First, we will give an overview of what is a disk image and describe some of the existing formats one may encounter during a digital investigation. Next, we will explore how Exhume Body is providing an abstraction layer to those formats to read data agnostically.
In digital forensics, tools are only as valuable as the investigator鈥檚 ability to understand and explain their output, especially when presenting evidence in court. Beyond simply extracting data, the methodology behind how artifacts are collected and interpreted plays a critical role in admissibility, reliability and credibility.
This blog post series introduces the Thanatology Project, an open-source, cross-platform digital forensics framework currently under development. Built on top of the Exhume ToolKit (a modular set of Rust-based forensic tools), Thanatology combines performance, transparency, and modern design via a Tauri-based desktop interface. Designed for law enforcement and digital forensic professionals, the project emphasizes not only artifact collection and presentation but will also try to provide help for interpretation.
For example, when analyzing EXTFS file systems, Thanatology will try to offers guidance on timestamp meanings and includes complete extraction details suitable for annexing to formal reports.
The blog series will cover:
While Thanatology is not intended to replace established tools, it will attempt to offers a modular and modern alternative ideal for cross-verifying findings or integrating into custom workflows. This blogpost series is mainly here to provide the community with updates, technical knowledge and any interesting subjects we found along the way.