PowerShell Empire vs Scalpel: Which Kali Linux Tools tool is Best in 2025?

PowerShell Empire is a robust open-source post-exploitation framework pre-installed in Kali Linux (version 6.1.2), crafted for penetration testers and red teams. This post-exploitation tool for ethical hacking leverages PowerShell and Python agents to execute stealthy attacks, making it a leading command-and-control framework for cybersecurity. With a 49.33 MB footprint and modules like Mimikatz and keyloggers, Empire offers secure communications and cross-platform support, empowering testers to simulate advanced persistent threats effectively.

Scalpel is an open-source, high-performance file carving utility pre-installed on Kali Linux at /usr/bin/scalpel, designed for recovering deleted or hidden files from disk images and raw block devices. Developed by Golden G. Richard III as an enhanced rewrite of Foremost 0.69, Scalpel leverages header and footer signatures to extract files, bypassing file system metadata. Supporting formats like JPEG, PDF, MP3, and DOC, it’s a critical tool for digital forensic investigators, incident responders, and ethical hackers conducting cyber forensic investigations and file recovery. Scalpel’s multithreading, GPU acceleration, and regular expression support make it exceptionally fast and versatile.