Engineering Commons^™

An Approach To Automotive Electrification And Testing, Christopher Rowe

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

In order to compete in the EcoCAR 2 competition, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University has redesigned the Powertrain of a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu into a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle. This endeavor was made possible by the EcoCAR 2 competition sponsored by the Department of Energy, General Motors, and Argonne National Laboratory. The Powertrain was changed from a conventional internal combustion engine with a start/stop capability, to a fully electric Powertrain, with a diesel generator, and plug in charging capability. This paper will cover the electrical work performed on the vehicle during the summer prior to year three of the competition, EcoCAR 2 …

Aircraft Detection And Tracking Using Uav-Mounted Vision System, Yan Zhang

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

For unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to operate safely in the national airspace where non-collaborating flying objects, such as general aviation (GA) aircraft without automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B), exist, the UAVs' capability of “seeing" these objects is especially important. This “seeing", or sensing, can be implemented via various means, such as Radar or Lidar. Here we consider using cameras mounted on UAVs only, which has the advantage of light weight and low power. For the visual system to work well, it is required that the camera-based sensing capability should be at the level equal to or exceeding that of human pilots. …

Communications System, William C. Barott

Publications

A communication method and system for communication utilizing modulation of digital signals, such as by targets and/or by use of low-complexity tags is presented. Targets may include any device or object that may alter signals, and tags can include a device with the ability to reflect and/or alter the properties of the signals and, in doing so, impose specific modulations on or alterations of such signals. Modulations can be sensed or detected using a receiver or receivers imple­menting processing algorithms derived from passive radar detection operations or other processes.

Hybrid Electric Power System Validation Through Parameter Optimization, Hasnaa Khalifi

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Battery models can be developed from first principles or from empirical methods. The work presented in this thesis is semi-empirical, the model was validated using test data through parameter optimization. Simulink Parameter Estimation toolbox was used to identify the battery parameters and validate the battery model with test data. Experimental data was obtained by discharging the battery of a modified 2013 Chevrolet Malibu hybrid electric vehicle. The resulting battery model provided accurate simulation results over the validation data. For the constant current discharge, the mean squared error between measured and simulated data was 0.26 volts for the terminal voltage and …

Atmospheric Weather Balloon For Near Space Research, Francisco F. Pastrana, Devonte Grantham, Shane M. Williams, Jessy Law, Jennifer Nason, Janet Marrnane

Aviation / Aeronautics / Aerospace International Research Conference

Atmospheric Weather Balloon for Near Space Research

The Society for S.P.A.C.E. has been working on the development of a weather balloon that will reach a height of 80 to 100 thousand feet and will collect data from the atmosphere. The weather balloon is attached to a Styrofoam box that contains an Arduino board controlling a set of sensors that will measure: temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind speed and direction.

The data will be collected and transmitted through an Xbee antenna that will provide us with remote monitoring capabilities. The data and images gathered will aid understanding of the characteristics and …

From The Editor-In-Chief, Ibrahim Baggili

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Welcome to JDFSL’s first issue for 2015! First, I would like to thank our editorial board, reviewers, and the JDFSL team for bringing this issue to life. It has been a big year for JDFSL as the journal continues to progress. We are continuing our indexing efforts for the journal and we are getting closer with some of the major databases.

Data Loss Prevention Management And Control: Inside Activity Incident Monitoring, Identification, And Tracking In Healthcare Enterprise Environments, Manghui Tu, Kimberly Spoa-Harty, Liangliang Xiao

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

As healthcare data are pushed online, consumers have raised big concerns on the breach of their personal information. Law and regulations have placed businesses and public organizations under obligations to take actions to prevent data breach. Among various threats, insider threats have been identified to be a major threat on data loss. Thus, effective mechanisms to control insider threats on data loss are urgently needed. The objective of this research is to address data loss prevention challenges in healthcare enterprise environment. First, a novel approach is provided to model internal threat, specifically inside activities. With inside activities modeling, data …

On The Network Performance Of Digital Evidence Acquisition Of Small Scale Devices Over Public Networks, Irvin Homem, Spyridon Dosis

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

While cybercrime proliferates – becoming more complex and surreptitious on the Internet – the tools and techniques used in performing digital investigations are still largely lagging behind, effectively slowing down law enforcement agencies at large. Real-time remote acquisition of digital evidence over the Internet is still an elusive ideal in the combat against cybercrime. In this paper we briefly describe the architecture of a comprehensive proactive digital investigation system that is termed as the Live Evidence Information Aggregator (LEIA). This system aims at collecting digital evidence from potentially any device in real time over the Internet. Particular focus is made …

Data Extraction On Mtk-Based Android Mobile Phone Forensics, Joe Kong

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

In conducting criminal investigations it is quite common that forensic examiners need to recover evidentiary data from smartphones used by offenders. However, examiners encountered difficulties in acquiring complete memory dump from MTK Android phones, a popular brand of smartphones, due to a lack of technical knowledge on the phone architecture and that system manuals are not always available. This research will perform tests to capture data from MTK Android phone by applying selected forensic tools and compare their effectiveness by analyzing the extracted results. It is anticipated that a generic extraction tool, once identified, can be used on different brands …

Open Forensic Devices, Lee Tobin, Pavel Gladyshev

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Cybercrime has been a growing concern for the past two decades. What used to be the responsibility of specialist national police has become routine work for regional and district police. Unfortunately, funding for law enforcement agencies is not growing as fast as the amount of digital evidence. In this paper, we present a forensic platform that is tailored for cost effectiveness, extensibility, and ease of use. The software for this platform is open source and can be deployed on practically all commercially available hardware devices such as standard desktop motherboards or embedded systems such as Raspberry Pi and Gizmosphere’s Gizmo …

A 3-D Stability Analysis Of Lee Harvey Oswald In The Backyard Photo, Srivamshi Pittala, Emily Whiting, Hany Farid

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Fifty years have passed since the assassination of U.S. President Kennedy. Despite the long passage of time, it is still argued that the famous backyard photo of Oswald, holding the same type of rifle used to assassinate the President, is a fake. These claims include, among others, that Oswald’s pose in the photo is physically implausible. We describe a detailed 3-D stability analysis to determine if this claim is warranted.

Table Of Contents

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

No abstract provided.

Comparison Of Lock-In And Pulse-Phase Thermography For Defect Characterization In Frp Composites Applied To Concrete, Jeff Brown, Sai Harsha Chittineni

Publications

Thermal imaging is a well-established technique for the non-destructive evaluation of FRP composites applied to reinforced concrete. Defect characterization using IR thermography, however, remains a topic of on-going research, and there are currently no universally accepted standards for data collection or interpretation. This research involved large scale thermography inspection of two FRP strengthened bridge girders that were removed from service after approximately 10 years of service in a potentially corrosive marine environment. Trial inspections were performed on test areas where defects could be identified using sounding methods. Two procedures showed the most promise for identifying and characterizing defects: sinusoidal (lock-in …

A Survey Of Botnet Detection Techniques By Command And Control Infrastructure, Thomas S. Hyslip, Jason M. Pittman

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Botnets have evolved to become one of the most serious threats to the Internet and there is substantial research on both botnets and botnet detection techniques. This survey reviewed the history of botnets and botnet detection techniques. The survey showed traditional botnet detection techniques rely on passive techniques, primarily honeypots, and that honeypots are not effective at detecting peer-to-peer and other decentralized botnets. Furthermore, the detection techniques aimed at decentralized and peer-to-peer botnets focus on detecting communications between the infected bots. Recent research has shown hierarchical clustering of flow data and machine learning are effective techniques for detecting botnet peer-to-peer …

To License Or Not To License Reexamined: An Updated Report On State Statutes Regarding Private Investigators And Digital Examiners, Thomas Lonardo, Alan Rea, Doug White

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

In this update to the 2012 year's study, the authors examine statutes that regulate, license, and enforce investigative functions in each US state. As before, the authors find that very few state statutes explicitly differentiate between Private Investigators and Digital Examiners. There is a small trend in which some states are changing definitions or moving to exempt DE from PI licensing requirements. However, we look at some additional information in terms of practicing attorney exemptions that may cloud the licensing waters.

As with the previous research studies (Lonardo et al., 2008, 2009, 2012) the authors contacted all state regulatory agencies …

Litigation Holds: Past, Present, And Future Directions, Milton Luoma, Vicki M. Luoma

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Electronically Stored Information (ESI) first became a serious litigation issue in the late 1990s, and the first attempts to determine best practices did not occur until the early 2000s. As best practices developed, the litigation hold to prevent routine destruction of documents and to preserve documents relevant to litigation came into existence. The duty to preserve ESI is triggered when litigation is reasonably anticipated. All information that relates to potential litigation must be preserved from the time it becomes reasonably apparent that litigation is possible until the expiration of the statute of limitations. If steps are not taken to properly …

Table Of Contents

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

No abstract provided.

From The Editor-In-Chief, Ibrahim Baggili

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Welcome to JDFSL’s second issue for 2015! First, I would like to thank our editorial board, reviewers, and the JDFSL team for bringing this issue to life. In this issue, we continue our multidisciplinary tradition. The first paper, Two challenges of stealthy hypervisors detection: time cheating and data fluctuations, showcases an important contribution to the computing discipline. The use of virtualization has dramatically increased given our strong reliance on cloud services both private and public. Even though hypervisors enhance security, they can also be exploited by malware. Therefore, this paper is of importance given that it introduces a novel method …

Two Challenges Of Stealthy Hypervisors Detection: Time Cheating And Data Fluctuations, Igor Korkin

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Hardware virtualization technologies play a significant role in cyber security. On the one hand these technologies enhance security levels, by designing a trusted operating system. On the other hand these technologies can be taken up into modern malware which is rather hard to detect. None of the existing methods is able to efficiently detect a hypervisor in the face of countermeasures such as time cheating, temporary self uninstalling, memory hiding etc. New hypervisor detection methods which will be described in this paper can detect a hypervisor under these countermeasures and even count several nested ones. These novel approaches rely on …

Rules Of Professional Responsibility In Digital Forensics: A Comparative Analysis, Filipo Sharevski

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

The consolidation of the rules of professional responsibility as recommended by the Committee on Identifying the Needs of Forensic Sciences Community (2009) accents the establishment of an uniform code of ethics emphasizing the importance of enforceability in strengthening the role the forensic science plays within the criminal justice system. Equally pertinent for the domain of digital forensics, this imperative entails a research commitment in comparing and contrasting the respective codes of ethics to illustrate their “variety, specificity and enforceability” in order to inform the discussion on the regulative aspects of the digital forensic discipline. Accordingly, this paper reviews the professional …

The "Bring Your Own Device" Conundrum For Organizations And Investigators: An Examination Of The Policy And Legal Concerns In Light Of Investigatory Challenges, Carla J. Utter, Alan Rea

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

In recent years, with the expansion of technology and the desire to downsize costs within the corporate culture, the technology trend has steered towards the integration of personally owned mobile devices (i.e. smartphones) within the corporate and enterprise environment. The movement, known as “Bring Your Own Device” (hereinafter referred to as “BYOD”), seeks to minimize or eliminate the need for two separate and distinct mobile devices for one employee. While taken at face value this trend seems favorable, the corporate policy and legal implications of the implementation of BYOD are further complicated by significant investigatory issues that far outweigh the …

Table Of Contents

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

No abstract provided.

Computer Forensic Projects For Accountants, Grover S. Kearns

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Digital attacks on organizations are becoming more common and more sophisticated. Firms are interested in providing data security and having an effective means to respond to attacks. Accountants possess important investigative and analytical skills that serve to uncover fraud in forensic investigations. Some accounting students take courses in forensic accounting but few colleges offer a course in computer forensics for accountants. Educators wishing to develop such a course may find developing the curriculum daunting. A major element of such a course is the use of forensic software. This paper argues the importance of computer forensics to accounting students and offers …

Identification And Exploitation Of Inadvertent Spectral Artifacts In Digital Audio, N. C. Donnangelo, W. S. Kuklinski, R. Szabo, R. A. Coury, G. R. Hamshar

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

We show that modulation products from local oscillators in a variety of commercial camcorders are coupled into the recorded audio track, creating narrow band time invariant spectral features. These spectral features, left largely intact by transcoding, compression and other forms of audiovisual post processing, can encode characteristics of specific camcorders used to capture the audio files, including the make and model. Using data sets both downloaded from YouTube and collected under controlled laboratory conditions we demonstrate an average probability of detection (Pd) approaching 0.95 for identification of a specific camcorder in a population of thousands of similar recordings, with a …

Table Of Contents

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

No abstract provided.

Factors Influencing Digital Forensic Investigations: Empirical Evaluation Of 12 Years Of Dubai Police Cases, Ibtesam Alawadhi, Janet C. Read, Andrew Marrington, Virginia N. L. Franqueira

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

In Digital Forensics, the number of person-hours spent on investigation is a key factor which needs to be kept to a minimum whilst also paying close attention to the authenticity of the evidence. The literature describes challenges behind increasing person-hours and identifies several factors which contribute to this phenomenon. This paper reviews these factors and demonstrates that they do not wholly account for increases in investigation time. Using real case records from the Dubai Police, an extensive study explains the contribution of other factors to the increase in person-hours. We conclude this work by emphasizing on several factors affecting the …

Tracking And Taxonomy Of Cyberlocker Link Sharers Based On Behavior Analysis, Xiao-Xi Fan, Kam-Pui Chow

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

The growing popularity of cyberlocker service has led to significant impact on the Internet that it is considered as one of the biggest contributors to the global Internet traffic estimated to be illegally traded content. Due to the anonymity property of cyberlocker, it is difficult for investigators to track user identity directly on cyberlocker site. In order to find the potential relationships between cyberlocker users, we propose a framework to collect cyberlocker related data from public forums where cyberlocker users usually distribute cyberlocker links for others to download and identity information can be gathered easily. Different kinds of sharing behaviors …

Cyber Black Box/Event Data Recorder: Legal And Ethical Perspectives And Challenges With Digital Forensics, Michael Losavio, Pavel Pastukov, Svetlana Polyakova

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

With ubiquitous computing and the growth of the Internet of Things, there is vast expansion in the deployment and use of event data recording systems in a variety of environments. From the ships’ logs of antiquity through the evolution of personal devices for recording personal and environmental activities, these devices offer rich forensic and evidentiary opportunities that smash against rights of privacy and personality. The technical configurations of these devices provide for greater scope of sensing, interconnection options for local, near, and cloud storage of data, and the possibility of powerful analytics. This creates the unique situation of near-total data …

Plc Forensics Based On Control Program Logic Change Detection, Ken Yau, Kam-Pui Chow

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system is an industrial control automated system. It is built with multiple Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs). PLC is a special form of microprocessor-based controller with proprietary operating system. Due to the unique architecture of PLC, traditional digital forensic tools are difficult to be applied. In this paper, we propose a program called Control Program Logic Change Detector (CPLCD), it works with a set of Detection Rules (DRs) to detect and record undesired incidents on interfering normal operations of PLC. In order to prove the feasibility of our solution, we set up two experiments for …

Forensic Acquisition Of Imvu: A Case Study, Robert Van Voorst, M-Tahar Kechadi, Nhien-An Le-Khac

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

There are many applications available for personal computers and mobile devices that facilitate users in meeting potential partners. There is, however, a risk associated with the level of anonymity on using instant message applications, because there exists the potential for predators to attract and lure vulnerable users. Today Instant Messaging within a Virtual Universe (IMVU) combines custom avatars, chat or instant message (IM), community, content creation, commerce, and anonymity. IMVU is also being exploited by criminals to commit a wide variety of offenses. However, there are very few researches on digital forensic acquisition of IMVU applications. In this paper, we …