Forensic Science and Technology Commons^™

The General Digital Forensics Model, Steven Rigby, Marcus K. Rogers

Annual ADFSL Conference on Digital Forensics, Security and Law

The lack of a graphical representation of all of the principles, processes, and phases necessary to carry out an digital forensic investigation is a key inhibitor to effective education in this newly emerging field of study. Many digital forensic models have been suggested for this purpose but they lack explanatory power as they are merely a collection of lists or one-dimensional figures. This paper presents a new multi-dimensional model, the General Digital Forensics Model (GDFM), that shows the relationships and inter-connectedness of the principles and processes needed within the domain of digital forensics.

Keywords: process model, computer forensics, expert learning, …

Teams Responsibilities For Digital Forensic Process, Salma Abdalla, Sherif Hazem, Sherif Hashem

Annual ADFSL Conference on Digital Forensics, Security and Law

This paper presents a detailed digital forensics process model and the responsible teams to perform it. The discussed model presents three teams and a forensic leader who coordinate between the three teams; these teams are physical crime scene team, laboratory examination team and courtroom team. These teams are responsible of achieving the digital forensic model by applying five main phases which are preparation phase, physical forensics and investigation phase, digital forensics phase, reporting and presentation phase and closure phase.

Most of the existing models in this field are either theoretical that deals with data processing or based on a legal …

The Evolution Of Internet Legal Regulation In Addressing Crime And Terrorism, Murdoch Watney

Annual ADFSL Conference on Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Internet regulation has evolved from self-regulation to the criminalization of conduct to state control of information available, accessed and submitted. Criticism has been leveled at the different forms of state control and the methods employed to enforce state control. After the terrorist attack on the USA on 11 September 2001, governments justify Internet state control as a law enforcement and national security tool against the abuse and misuse of the Internet for the commission of serious crimes, such as phishing, child pornography; terrorism and copyright infringement. Some Internet users and civil rights groups perceive state control as an abomination which …

Securitycom: A Multi-Player Game For Researching And Teaching Information Security Teams, Douglas P. Twitchell

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

A major portion of government and business organizations’ attempts to counteract information security threats is teams of security personnel. These teams often consist of personnel of diverse backgrounds in specific specialties such as network administration, application development, and business administration, resulting in possible conflicts between security, functionality, and availability. This paper discusses the use of games to teach and research information security teams and outlines research to design and build a simple, team-oriented, configurable, information security game. It will be used to study how information security teams work together to defend against attacks using a multi-player game, and to study …

Table Of Contents

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

No abstract provided.

Providing A Foundation For Analysis Of Volatile Data Stores, Timothy Vidas

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Current threats against typical computer systems demonstrate a need for forensic analysis of memory-resident data in addition to the conventional static analysis common today. Certain attacks and types of malware exist solely in memory and leave little or no evidentiary information on nonvolatile stores such as a hard disk drive. The desire to preserve system state at the time of response may even warrant memory acquisition independent of perceived threats and the ability to analyze the acquired duplicate.

Tools capable of duplicating various types of volatile data stores are becoming widely available. Once the data store has been duplicated, current …

Analysis Of Mitochondrial Dna Coding Region Snps By Pyrosequencing, Kyle Robert Carl Parker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

To date, the use of mitochondrial DNA in forensic analysis has relied on the presence of variations in the control region to differentiate between samples. One problem that this analysis has shown is the occurrence of common Haplogroup H haplotypes or identical sequences. Thus, there is a need to enhance the distinguishing power of this type of analysis. One option has been to investigate the mitochondrial coding region for polymorphisms that could differentiate between samples with identical control region haplotypes. The goal of this study has been to identify polymorphic coding region sites for development in a Pyrosequencing assay that …

Forensic Analysis Of C-4 And Commercial Blasting Agents For Possible Discrimination, Katie Steele

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The criminal use of explosives has increased in recent years. Political instability and the wide spread access to the internet, filled with "homemade recipes," are two conjectures for the increase. C-4 is a plastic bonded explosive (PBX) comprised of 91% of the high explosive RDX, 1.6% processing oils, 5.3% plasticizer, and 2.1% polyisobutylene (PIB). C-4 is most commonly used for military purposes, but also has found use in commercial industry as well. Current methods for the forensic analysis of C-4 are limited to identification of the explosive; however, recent publications have suggested the plausibility of discrimination between C-4 samples based …

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 …

Information Governance: A Model For Security In Medical Practice, Patricia A. Williams

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Information governance is becoming an important aspect of organisational accountability. In consideration that information is an integral asset of most organisations, the protection of this asset will increasingly rely on organisational capabilities in security. In the medical arena this information is primarily sensitive patient-based information. Previous research has shown that application of security measures is a low priority for primary care medical practice and that awareness of the risks are seriously underestimated. Consequently, information security governance will be a key issue for medical practice in the future. Information security governance is a relatively new term and there is little existing …

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 ([email protected]) or Glenn Dardick ([email protected]).

Information Technology Act 2000 In India - Authentication Of E-Documents, R. G. Pawar, B. S. Sawant, A. Kaiwade

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

The Information Technology Act 2000 has enacted in India on 9th June 2000. This Act has mentioned provision of authentication of electronic document. It is the need of hour at that time that such provision is needed in the Indian Law system, especially for electronic commerce and electronic governance. Electronic commerce”, which involve the use of alternatives to paper based methods of communication and storage information. To do electronic commerce there should be authentication of particular document. The working of internet is the documents are traveling in terms of bits from one destination to other destination, through various media like …

Monitoring And Surveillance In The Workplace: Lessons Learnt? – Investigating The International Legal Position, Verine Etsebeth

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

When considering the legal implications of monitoring and surveillance in the workplace, the question may be asked why companies deploy computer surveillance and monitoring in the first place. Several reasons may be put forward to justify why more than 80% of all major American firms monitor employee e-mails and Internet usage. However, what most companies forget is the fact that the absence or presence of monitoring and surveillance activities in a company holds serious legal consequences for companies. From the discussion in this paper it will become apparent that there is a vast difference in how most countries approach this …

Education Organization Baseline Control Protection And Trusted Level Security, Wasim A. Al-Hamdani

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Many education organizations have adopted for security the enterprise best practices for implementation on their campuses, while others focus on ISO Standard (or/and) the National Institution of Standards and Technology.

All these adoptions are dependent on IT personal and their experiences or knowledge of the standard. On top of this is the size of the education organizations. The larger the population in an education organization, the more the problem of information and security become very clear. Thus, they have been obliged to comply with information security issues and adopt the national or international standard. The case is quite different when …

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 …

Book Review: No Place To Hide, Gary C. Kessler

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

This issue presents the second 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 ([email protected]) or Glenn Dardick ([email protected]).

The Evolution Of Internet Legal Regulation In Addressing Crime And Terrorism, Murdoch Watney

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Internet regulation has evolved from self-regulation to the criminalization of conduct to state control of information available, accessed and submitted. Criticism has been leveled at the different forms of state control and the methods employed to enforce state control. After the terrorist attack on the USA on 11 September 2001, governments justify Internet state control as a law enforcement and national security tool against the abuse and misuse of the Internet for the commission of serious crimes, such as phishing, child pornography; terrorism and copyright infringement. Some Internet users and civil rights groups perceive state control as an abomination which …

Computer Crimes: A Case Study Of What Malaysia Can Learn From Others?, Janaletchumi Appudurai, Chitra L. Ramalingam

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Rapid development of information technology (IT) has brought with it many new applications such as e-commerce and global business. The past few years have seen activities in the legislative arena covering issues such as digital signatures, the international recognition of electronic documents and privacy and data protection. Both the developed and developing countries have exhibited keenness to embrace the IT environment. Securing this electronic environment from intrusion, however, continues to be problematic. A particular favorite form of computer crime would be ‘hacking’. As more computer systems move on to on-line processing and improved telecommunications, computer hackers are now a real …

The Science Of Dna Identification: From The Laboratory To The Courtroom (And Beyond), David H. Kaye

Faculty Scholarship

This article focuses on sequences of DNA base-pairs, which are becoming increasingly important in the field of law. These DNA sequences are used by forensic scientists to discover evidence such as blood stains, semen, saliva, and hair, and has become highly useful in the courtroom with regard to exonerating the innocent and convicting the guilty. Part I of the article examines how courts may (or may not) admit DNA evidence in court through four phases: uncritical acceptance; serious challenges to analytical methods and statistical interpretation of the results; renewed acceptance of DNA evidence; and acceptance of advance systems of DNA …

Forensic Analysis Of Xbox Consoles, Paul Burke, Philip Craiger

Publications

Microsoft’s Xbox game console can be modified to run additional operating systems, enabling it to store gigabytes of non-game related files and run various computer services. Little has been published, however, on procedures for determining whether or not an Xbox console has been modified, for creating a forensic duplicate, and for conducting a forensic investigation. Given the growing popularity of Xbox systems, it is important to understand how to identify, image and examine these devices while reducing the potential of corrupting the media. This paper discusses Xbox forensics and provides a set of forensically-sound procedures for analyzing Xbox consoles.

Advances In Fire Debris Analysis, Mary Williams

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Fire incidents are a major contributor to the number of deaths and property losses within the United States each year. Fire investigations determine the cause of the fire resulting in an assignment of responsibility. Current methods of fire debris analysis are reviewed including the preservation, extraction, detection and characterization of ignitable liquids from fire debris. Leak rates were calculated for the three most common types of fire debris evidence containers. The consequences of leaking containers on the recovery and characterization of ignitable liquids were demonstrated. The interactions of hydrocarbons with activated carbon during the extraction of ignitable liquids from the …

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 …

Table Of Contents

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

No abstract provided.

Making Molehills Out Of Mountains: Bringing Security Research To The Classroom, Richard G. Taylor

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Security research published in academic journals rarely finds its way to the business community or into the classroom. Even though the research is of high quality, it is written in a manner that is difficult to read and to understand. This paper argues that one way to get this academic research into the business community is to incorporate it into security classrooms. To do so, however, academic articles need to be adapted into a classroom-friendly format. This paper suggests ways to do this and provides an example of an academic article that was adapted for use in a security management …

The Common Body Of Knowledge: A Framework To Promote Relevant Information Security Research, Kenneth J. Knapp, F. N. Ford, Thomas E. Marshall, R. K. Rainer

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

This study proposes using an established common body of knowledge (CBK) as one means of organizing information security literature. Consistent with calls for more relevant information systems (IS) research, this industrydeveloped framework can motivate future research towards topics that are important to the security practitioner. In this review, forty-eight articles from ten IS journals from 1995 to 2004 are selected and cross-referenced to the ten domains of the information security CBK. Further, we distinguish articles as empirical research, frameworks, or tutorials. Generally, this study identified a need for additional empirical research in every CBK domain including topics related to legal …

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 ([email protected]) or Glenn Dardick ([email protected]).

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.

Investigating Information Structure Of Phishing Emails Based On Persuasive Communication Perspective, Ki J. Lee, Il-Yeol Song

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Current approaches of phishing filters depend on classifying messages based on textually discernable features such as IP-based URLs or domain names as those features that can be easily extracted from a given phishing message. However, in the same sense, those easily perceptible features can be easily manipulated by sophisticated phishers. Therefore, it is important that universal patterns of phishing messages should be identified for feature extraction to serve as a basis for text classification. In this paper, we demonstrate that user perception regarding phishing message can be identified in central and peripheral routes of information processing. We also present a …

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 …