David, a digital forensics investigator, is analyzing a suspicious file with a hex editor as...

Option A is correct because the hex sequence FF D8 is the well-known starting signature of a JPEG file. CHFI v11 explicitly covers Understanding Hex Editors and Hexadecimal Notation , Image File Analysis: JPEG and BMP , Understanding EXIF data , and Hex View of Popular Image File Formats . These objectives make clear that forensic investigators are expected to identify file types from header bytes and then examine the associated artifacts and metadata.

Once the file is recognized as JPEG, the most appropriate next step is to inspect metadata , especially EXIF data , as well as look for anomalies such as suspicious embedded content, manipulated headers, or evidence of steganographic or malicious use. That is more aligned with CHFI file-analysis methodology than jumping to unrelated formats or macro analysis.

The other options are inconsistent with the signature shown. XML, GIF, and Word documents use different file structures and header values. Therefore, the correct interpretation is that the file is a JPEG image , and David should continue with image-specific forensic analysis, especially metadata and file-structure review.