The Volatility Framework is a completely open collection of tools, implemented in Python under the GNU General Public License, for the extraction of digital artifacts from volatile memory (RAM) samples. The extraction techniques are performed completely independent of the system being investigated but offer unprecedented visibility into the runtime state of the system. The framework is intended to introduce people to the techniques and complexities associated with extracting digital artifacts from volatile memory samples and provide a platform for further work into this exciting area of research.

The Volatility Framework demonstrates our commitment to and belief in the importance of open source digital investigation tools . Volatile Systems is committed to the belief that the technical procedures used to extract digital evidence should be open to peer analysis and review. We also believe this is in the best interest of the digital investigation community, as it helps increase the communal knowledge about systems we are forced to investigate. Similarly, we do not believe the availability of these tools should be restricted and therefore encourage people to modify, extend, and make derivative works, as permitted by the GPL.