Computer Engineering Commons^™

The Design And Implementation Of An Automated Security Compliance Toolkit: A Pedagogical Exercise, Guillermo Francia, Brian Estes, Rahjima Francia, Vu Nguyen, Alex Scroggins

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

The demand, through government regulations, for the preservation of the security, integrity, and privacy of corporate and customer information is increasing at an unprecedented pace. Government and private entities struggle to comply with these regulations through various means—both automated and manual controls. This paper presents an automated security compliance toolkit that is designed and developed using mostly open source tools to demonstrate that 1) meeting regulatory compliance does not need to be a very expensive proposition and 2) an undertaking of this magnitude could be served as a pedagogical exercise for students in the areas of collaboration, project management, software …

Network And Database Security: Regulatory Compliance, Network, And Database Security - A Unified Process And Goal, Errol A. Blake

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Database security has evolved; data security professionals have developed numerous techniques and approaches to assure data confidentiality, integrity, and availability. This paper will show that the Traditional Database Security, which has focused primarily on creating user accounts and managing user privileges to database objects are not enough to protect data confidentiality, integrity, and availability. This paper is a compilation of different journals, articles and classroom discussions will focus on unifying the process of securing data or information whether it is in use, in storage or being transmitted. Promoting a change in Database Curriculum Development trends may also play a role …

Table Of Contents

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

No abstract provided.

A Grounded Theory Approach To Identifying And Measuring Forensic Data Acquisition Tasks, Gregory H. Carlton

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

As a relatively new field of study, little empirical research has been conducted pertaining to computer forensics. This lack of empirical research contributes to problems for practitioners and academics alike.

For the community of practitioners, problems arise from the dilemma of applying scientific methods to legal matters based on anecdotal training methods, and the academic community is hampered by a lack of theory in this evolving field. A research study utilizing a multi-method approach to identify and measure tasks practitioners perform during forensic data acquisitions and lay a foundation for academic theory development was conducted in 2006 in conjunction with …

Identifying Non-Volatile Data Storage Areas: Unique Notebook Identification Information As Digital Evidence, Nikica Budimir, Jill Slay

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

The research reported in this paper introduces new techniques to aid in the identification of recovered notebook computers so they may be returned to the rightful owner. We identify non-volatile data storage areas as a means of facilitating the safe storing of computer identification information. A forensic proof of concept tool has been designed to test the feasibility of several storage locations identified within this work to hold the data needed to uniquely identify a computer. The tool was used to perform the creation and extraction of created information in order to allow the analysis of the non-volatile storage locations …

Book Review: Conquest In Cyberspace: National Security And Information Warfare, Gary C. Kessler

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

This is the Book Review column for the JDFSL. It is an experiment to broaden the services that the journal provides to readers, so we are anxious to get your reaction. Is the column useful and interesting? Should we include more than one review per issue? Should we also review products? Do you have suggested books/products for review and/or do you want to write a review? All of this type of feedback -- and more -- is appreciated. Please feel free to send comments to Gary Kessler (gary.kessler@champlain.edu) or Glenn Dardick (gdardick@dardick.net).

Book Review: Computer Forensics: Principles And Practices, Gary C. Kessler

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

This issue presents the third Book Review column for the JDFSL. It is an experiment to broaden the services that the journal provides to readers, so we are anxious to get your reaction. Is the column useful and interesting? Should we include more than one review per issue? Should we also review products? Do you have suggested books/products for review and/or do you want to write a review? All of this type of feedback -- and more -- is appreciated. Please feel free to send comments to Gary Kessler (gary.kessler@champlain.edu) or Glenn Dardick (gdardick@dardick.net).

Table Of Contents

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

No abstract provided.

Some Peer-To-Peer, Democratically And Voluntarily Produced Thoughts About 'The Wealth Of Networks: How Social Production Transforms Markets And Freedom,' By Yochai Benkler, Ann Bartow

Law Faculty Scholarship

In this review essay, Bartow concludes that The Wealth of Networks: How Social Production Transforms Markets and Freedom by Yochai Benkler is a book well worth reading, but that Benkler still has a bit more work to do before his Grand Unifying Theory of Life, The Internet, and Everything is satisfactorily complete. It isn't enough to concede that the Internet won't benefit everyone. He needs to more thoroughly consider the ways in which the lives of poor people actually worsen when previously accessible information, goods and services are rendered less convenient or completely unattainable by their migration online. Additionally, the …

Keeping The Internet Neutral?: Tim Wu And Christopher Yoo Debate, Tim Wu, Christopher S. Yoo

All Faculty Scholarship

"Net neutrality" has been among the leading issues of telecommunications policy this decade. Is the neutrality of the Internet fundamental to its success, and worth regulating to protect, or simply a technical design subject to improvement? In this debate-form commentary, Tim Wu and Christopher Yoo make clear the connection between net neutrality and broader issues of national telecommunications policy.

Mandating Access To Telecom And The Internet: The Hidden Side Of Trinko, Daniel F. Spulber, Christopher S. Yoo

All Faculty Scholarship

Antitrust has long played a major role in telecommunications policy, demonstrated most dramatically by the equal access mandate imposed during the breakup of AT&T. In this Article we explore the extent to which antitrust can continue to serve as a source of access mandates following the Supreme Court's 2004 Trinko decision. Although Trinko sharply criticized access remedies and antitrust courts' ability to enforce them, it is not yet clear whether future courts will interpret the opinion as barring all antitrust access claims. Even more importantly, the opinion contains language hinting at possible bases for differentiating among different types of access, …

What’S The Hang Up? The Future Of Voip Regulation And Taxation In New Hampshire, Kate Winstanley

The University of New Hampshire Law Review

Alice in Austria wishes to call her friend Bob in Boston, using a Boston area code to avoid charges for an international call. Using VoIP, Alice may initiate her call from any location in Austria where she may find Internet access. Once Alice connects to the Internet, she can transmit her call with the aid of a VoIP service provider, such as Skype. In order to hear and communicate with Bob, Alice can rely on a microphone and a headset that she can plug into her computer. Through VoIP, not only may Alice carry on a telephone conversation, but most …

Patentability Of Software Inventions, Umakant Mishra

Umakant Mishra

Software is very expensive to develop but very inexpensive to copy. Just by copying a software you create an exact duplicate of the original software and all with the same functionality. There is no difference between the original (which is bought) and the copy (pirated). The worse is when the source code is copied. The copier can even claim to have developed the software where the credit of the developer might go. The software developers use various methods to protect their source code such as copyright, trade secrets etc. but each having limitations. The developers are keen on finding legal …

Paper Session V: Forensic Software Tools For Cell Phone Subscriber Identity Modules, Wayne Jansen, Rick Ayers

Annual ADFSL Conference on Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Cell phones and other handheld devices incorporating cell phone capabilities (e.g., smart phones) are ubiquitous. Besides placing calls, cell phones allow users to perform other tasks such as text messaging and phonebook entry management. When cell phones and cellular devices are involved in a crime or other incident, forensic specialists require tools that allow the proper retrieval and speedy examination of data present on the device. For devices conforming to the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) standards, certain data such as dialed numbers, text messages, and phonebook entries are maintained on a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM). This paper gives …

Paper Session V: Steganography And Terrorist Communications - Current Information And Trends - Tools, Analysis And Future Directions In Steganalysis In Context With Terrorists And Other Criminals, William Eyre, Marcus Rogers

Annual ADFSL Conference on Digital Forensics, Security and Law

In ancient times, users communicated using steganography, “…derived from the Greek words steganos, meaning ‘covered’, and graphein, meaning ‘to write.’” (Singh, 1999, p.5) Steganography facilitates secret, undetected communication. In modern times, in the context of the Global War on Terror, national intelligence and law enforcement agencies need tools to detect hidden information (steganography) in various types of media, most specifically to uncover the placement of hidden information in images. This paper will look at steganography in general terms, presenting the theory of some common steganographic techniques and touching on some theoretical work in steganography. Then a discussion of how to …

Paper Session Iv: Toward Understanding Digital Forensics As A Profession: Defining Curricular Needs (***Research In Process ***), Michelle Wolf, Alan Shafer, Michael Gendron

Annual ADFSL Conference on Digital Forensics, Security and Law

This research paper presents research in process which attempts to define the common body of knowledge (CBK) of digital forensics. Digital forensics is not well defined not does it have a generally accepted CBK. The first three phases of completed research, in a four-phase research process are discussed. The early results have created a preliminary CBK, and final validation is underway.

Paper Session Iv: Development And Delivery Of Coursework - The Legal/Regulatory/Policy Environment Of Cyberforensics, John W. Bagby, John C. Ruhnka

Annual ADFSL Conference on Digital Forensics, Security and Law

This paper describes a cyber-forensics course that integrates important public policy and legal issues as well as relevant forensic techniques. Cyber-forensics refers to the amalgam of multi-disciplinary activities involved in the identification, gathering, handling, custody, use and security of electronic files and records, involving expertise from the forensic domain, and which produces evidence useful in the proof of facts for both commercial and legal activities. The legal and regulatory environment in which electronic discovery takes place is of critical importance to cyber-forensics experts because the legal process imposes both constraints and opportunities for the effective use of evidence gathered through …

Paper Session Iii: Research Brief: A Curriculum For Teaching Information Technology Investigative Techniques For Auditors, Grover S. Kearns, Elizabeth V. Mulig

Annual ADFSL Conference on Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Recent prosecutions of highly publicized white-collar crimes combined with public outrage have resulted in heightened regulation and greater emphasis on systems of internal control. Because both white-collar and cybercrimes are usually perpetrated through computers, auditors’ knowledge of information technology (IT) is now more vital than ever. However, preserving digital evidence and investigative techniques, which can be essential to fraud examinations, are not skills frequently taught in accounting programs. Furthermore, many students are not instructed in the use of computer assisted auditing tools and techniques – applications that might uncover fraudulent activity. Only a limited number of university-level accounting classes provide …

Paper Session Ii: Forensic Scene Documentation Using Mobile Technology, Ibrahim Baggili

Annual ADFSL Conference on Digital Forensics, Security and Law

This paper outlines a framework for integrating forensic scene documentation with mobile technology. Currently there are no set standards for documenting a forensic scene. Nonetheless, there is a conceptual framework that forensic scientists and engineers use that includes note taking, scene sketches, photographs, video, and voice interview recordings. This conceptual framework will be the basis that a mobile forensic scene documentation software system is built on. A mobile software system for documenting a forensic scene may help in standardizing forensic scene documentation by regulating the data collection and documentation processes for various forensic disciplines.

Book Review: Digital Crime And Forensic Science In Cyberspace, Gary C. Kessler

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

This issue presents the first Book Review column for the JDFSL. It is an experiment to broaden the services that the journal provides to readers, so we are anxious to get your reaction. Is the column useful and interesting? Should we include more than one review per issue? Should we also review products? Do you have suggested books/products for review and/or do you want to write a review? All of this type of feedback -- and more -- is appreciated. Please feel free to send comments to Gary Kessler (gary.kessler@champlain.edu) or Glenn Dardick (gdardick@dardick.net).

The 2006 Analysis Of Information Remaining On Disks Offered For Sale On The Second Hand Market, Andy Jones, Craig Valli, Iain Sutherland, Paula Thomas

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

All organisations, whether in the public or private sector, use computers for the storage and processing of information relating to their business or services, their employees and their customers. A large proportion of families and individuals in their homes now also use personal computers and, both intentionally and inadvertently, often store on those computers personal information. It is clear that most organisations and individuals continue to be unaware of the information that may be stored on the hard disks that the computers contain, and have not considered what may happen to the information after the disposal of the equipment.

In …

Development Of An Ontology Based Forensic Search Mechanism: Proof Of Concept, Jill Slay, Fiona Schulz

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

This paper examines the problems faced by Law Enforcement in searching large quantities of electronic evidence. It examines the use of ontologies as the basis for new forensic software filters and provides a proof of concept tool based on an ontological design. It demonstrates that efficient searching is produced through the use of such a design and points to further work that might be carried out to extend this concept.

A Forensic Log File Extraction Tool For Icq Instant Messaging Clients, Kim Morfitt, Craig Valli

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Instant messenger programs such as ICQ are often used by hackers and criminals for illicit purposes and consequently the log files from such programs are of interest in a forensic investigation. This paper outlines research that has resulted in the development of a tool for the extraction of ICQ log file entries. Detailed reconstruction of data from log files was achieved with a number of different ICQ software. There are several limitations with the current design including timestamp information not adjusted for the time zone, data could be altered, and conversations must be manually reconstructed. Future research will aim to …

A Curriculum For Teaching Information Technology Investigative Techniques For Auditors, Grover S. Kearns

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Recent prosecutions of highly publicized white-collar crimes combined with public outrage have resulted in heightened regulation of financial reporting and greater emphasis on systems of internal control. Because both white-collar and cybercrimes are usually perpetrated through computers, internal and external auditors’ knowledge of information technology (IT) is now more vital than ever. However, preserving digital evidence and investigative techniques, which can be essential to fraud examinations, are not skills frequently taught in accounting programs and instruction in the use of computer assisted auditing tools and techniques – applications that might uncover fraudulent activity – is limited. Only a few university-level …

Development Of A National Repository Of Digital Forensic Intelligence, Mark Weiser, David P. Biros, Greg Mosier

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Many people do all of their banking online, we and our children communicate with peers through computer systems, and there are many jobs that require near continuous interaction with computer systems. Criminals, however, are also “connected”, and our online interaction provides them a conduit into our information like never before. Our credit card numbers and other fiscal information are at risk, our children's personal information is exposed to the world, and our professional reputations are on the line.

The discipline of Digital Forensics in law enforcement agencies around the nation and world has grown to match the increased risk and …

The Role Of Power And Negotiation In Online Deception, Chad Albrecht, Conan C. Albrecht, Jonathan Wareham, Paul Fox

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

The purpose of this paper is to advance theoretical understanding of the important role of both power and negotiation during online deception. By so doing, the paper provides insight into the relationship between perpetrator and victim in Internet fraud. The growing prevalence of Internet Fraud continues to be a burden to both society and individuals. In an attempt to better understand Internet fraud and online deception, this article attempts to build an interactive model, based upon the dimensions of power and negotiation from the management and psychology literature. Using the model presented, the article examines the effects of the Internet …

Electronic Data Discovery: Integrating Due Process Into Cyber Forensic Practice, John W. Bagby, John C. Ruhnka

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Most organizations and government agencies regularly become engaged in litigation with suppliers, customers, clients, employees, competitors, shareholders, prosecutors or regulatory agencies that nearly assures the need to organize, retain, find and produce business records and correspondence, emails, accounting records or other data relevant to disputed issues. This article discusses some high visibility cases that constrain how metadata and content is routinely made available to opposing parties in civil litigation, to prosecutors in criminal prosecutions and to agency staff in regulatory enforcement litigation. Public policy, as implemented in the rules of evidence and pretrial discovery, restrict electronic data discovery (EDD) as …

Computer Forensics Field Triage Process Model, Marcus K. Rogers, James Goldman, Rick Mislan, Timothy Wedge, Steve Debrota

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

With the proliferation of digital based evidence, the need for the timely identification, analysis and interpretation of digital evidence is becoming more crucial. In many investigations critical information is required while at the scene or within a short period of time - measured in hours as opposed to days. The traditional cyber forensics approach of seizing a system(s)/media, transporting it to the lab, making a forensic image(s), and then searching the entire system for potential evidence, is no longer appropriate in some circumstances. In cases such as child abductions, pedophiles, missing or exploited persons, time is of the essence. In …