Information Security Commons^™

Relating Admissibility Standards For Digital Evidence To Attack Scenario Reconstruction, Changwei Liu, Anoop Singhal, Duminda Wijesekera

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Attackers tend to use complex techniques such as combining multi-step, multi-stage attack with anti-forensic tools to make it difficult to find incriminating evidence and reconstruct attack scenarios that can stand up to the expected level of evidence admissibility in a court of law. As a solution, we propose to integrate the legal aspects of evidence correlation into a Prolog based reasoner to address the admissibility requirements by creating most probable attack scenarios that satisfy admissibility standards for substantiating evidence. Using a prototype implementation, we show how evidence extracted by using forensic tools can be integrated with legal reasoning to reconstruct …

A Study Of Forensic Imaging In The Absence Of Write-Blockers, Gary C. Kessler, Gregory H. Carlton

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Best practices in digital forensics demand the use of write-blockers when creating forensic images of digital media, and this has been a core tenet of computer forensics training for decades. The practice is so ingrained that the integrity of images created without a write-blocker are immediately suspect. This paper describes a research framework that compares forensic images acquired with and without utilizing write-blockers in order to understand the extent of the differences, if any, in the resultant forensic copies. We specifically address whether differences are superficial or evidentiary, and we discuss the impact of admitting evidence acquired without write blocking. …

Automated Evaluation Of Approximate Matching Algorithms On Real Data, Frank Breitinger, Vassil Roussev

Electrical & Computer Engineering and Computer Science Faculty Publications

Bytewise approximate matching is a relatively new area within digital forensics, but its importance is growing quickly as practitioners are looking for fast methods to screen and analyze the increasing amounts of data in forensic investigations. The essential idea is to complement the use of cryptographic hash functions to detect data objects with bytewise identical representation with the capability to find objects with bytewise similarrepresentations.

Unlike cryptographic hash functions, which have been studied and tested for a long time, approximate matching ones are still in their early development stages and evaluation methodology is still evolving. Broadly, prior approaches have …

[Introduction To] Identity And Leadership In Virtual Communities: Establishing Credibility And Influence, Dona J. Hickey, Joe Essid

Bookshelf

The presence and ubiquity of the internet continues to transform the way in which we identify ourselves and others both online and offline. The development of virtual communities permits users to create an online identity to interact with and influence one another in ways that vary greatly from face-to-face interaction.

Identity and Leadership in Virtual Communities: Establishing Credibility and Influence explores the notion of establishing an identity online, managing it like a brand, and using it with particular members of a community. Bringing together a range of voices exemplifying how participants in online communities influence one another, this book serves …

Educating The Next Generation Of Cyberforensic Professionals, Mark Pollitt, Philip Craiger

Publications

This paper provides a historical overview of the development of cyberforensics as a scientific discipline, along with a description of the current state of training, educational programs, certification and accreditation. The paper traces the origins of cyberforensics, the acceptance of cyberforensics as a forensic science and its recognition as a component of information security. It also discusses the development of professional certification and standardized bodies of knowledge that have had a substantial impact on the discipline. Finally, it discusses the accreditation of cyberforensic educational programs, its linkage with the bodies of knowledge and its effect on cyberforensic educational programs.

Hot Zone Identification: Analyzing Effects Of Data Sampling On Spam Clustering, Rasib Khan, Mainul Mizan, Ragib Hasan, Alan Sprague

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Email is the most common and comparatively the most efficient means of exchanging information in today's world. However, given the widespread use of emails in all sectors, they have been the target of spammers since the beginning. Filtering spam emails has now led to critical actions such as forensic activities based on mining spam email. The data mine for spam emails at the University of Alabama at Birmingham is considered to be one of the most prominent resources for mining and identifying spam sources. It is a widely researched repository used by researchers from different global organizations. The usual process …

Using Internet Artifacts To Profile A Child Pornography Suspect, Marcus K. Rogers, Kathryn C. Seigfried-Spellar

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Digital evidence plays a crucial role in child pornography investigations. However, in the following case study, the authors argue that the behavioral analysis or “profiling” of digital evidence can also play a vital role in child pornography investigations. The following case study assessed the Internet Browsing History (Internet Explorer Bookmarks, Mozilla Bookmarks, and Mozilla History) from a suspected child pornography user’s computer. The suspect in this case claimed to be conducting an ad hoc law enforcement investigation. After the URLs were classified (Neutral; Adult Porn; Child Porn; Adult Dating sites; Pictures from Social Networking Profiles; Chat Sessions; Bestiality; Data Cleaning; …

Personal Denial Of Service (Pdos) Attacks: A Discussion And Exploration Of A New Category Of Cyber Crime, Michael R. Bartolacci, Larry J. Leblanc, Ashley Podhradsky

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

The growth of the Internet has created a corresponding growth in Internet-based crimes and online misbehavior, particularly among younger computer-savvy people. Younger generations have grown up in a world where internet access, social networking, e-commerce and smartphones are commonplace. Given this fact, they have learned how to use, and how to abuse, technology. This leads us to define a new category of cybercrime called a Personal Denial of Service attack (PDOS). A PDOS is a cyber-crime in which an individual deliberately prevents the access of another individual or small group to online services such as email or banking. Due to …

On Cyber Attacks And Signature Based Intrusion Detection For Modbus Based Industrial Control Systems, Wei Gao, Thomas H. Morris

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Industrial control system communication networks are vulnerable to reconnaissance, response injection, command injection, and denial of service attacks. Such attacks can lead to an inability to monitor and control industrial control systems and can ultimately lead to system failure. This can result in financial loss for control system operators and economic and safety issues for the citizens who use these services. This paper describes a set of 28 cyber attacks against industrial control systems which use the MODBUS application layer network protocol. The paper also describes a set of standalone and state based intrusion detection system rules which can be …

Idiographic Digital Profiling: Behavioral Analysis Based On Digital Forensics, Chad M. Steel

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Idiographic digital profiling (IDP) is the application of behavioral analysis to the field of digital forensics. Previous work in this field takes a nomothetic approach to behavioral analysis by attempting to understand the aggregate behaviors of cybercriminals. This work is the first to take an idiographic approach by examining a particular subject's digital footprints for immediate use in an ongoing investigation. IDP provides a framework for investigators to analyze digital behavioral evidence for the purposes of case planning, subject identification, lead generation, obtaining and executing warrants, and prosecuting offenders.

Book Review: The Basics Of Digital Forensics: The Primer For Getting Started In Digital Forensics, Stephen Larson

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

The Basics of Digital Forensics: The Primer for Getting Started in Digital Forensics is well-named–it really is very basic. And it should be, as the book’s intended audience includes entry-level digital forensics professionals and complimentary fields such as law enforcement, legal, and general information security. Though the copyright is 2012, some of the data is from 2009, and there is mention of estimates for 2010.

Table Of Contents

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

No abstract provided.

File Detection On Network Traffic Using Approximate Matching, Frank Breitinger, Ibrahim Baggili

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

In recent years, Internet technologies changed enormously and allow faster Internet connections, higher data rates and mobile usage. Hence, it is possible to send huge amounts of data / files easily which is often used by insiders or attackers to steal intellectual property. As a consequence, data leakage prevention systems (DLPS) have been developed which analyze network traffic and alert in case of a data leak. Although the overall concepts of the detection techniques are known, the systems are mostly closed and commercial. Within this paper we present a new technique for network traffic analysis based on approximate matching (a.k.a …

On Identities In Modern Networks, Libor Polcak, Radek Hranick, Tomas Martınek

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Communicating parties inside computer networks use different kind of identifiers. Some of these identifiers are stable, e.g., logins used to access a specific service, some are only temporary, e.g., dynamically assigned IP addresses. This paper tackles several challenges of lawful interception that emerged in modern networks. The main contribution is the graph model that links identities learnt from various sources distributed in a network. The inferred identities result into an interception of more detailed data in conformance with the issued court order. The approach deals with network address translation, short-lived identifiers and simultaneous usage of different identities. The approach was …

Accurate Modeling Of The Siemens S7 Scada Protocol For Intrusion Detection And Digital Forensics, Amit Kleinmann, Avishai Wool

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

The Siemens S7 protocol is commonly used in SCADA systems for communications between a Human Machine Interface (HMI) and the Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs). This paper presents a model-based Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) designed for S7 networks. The approach is based on the key observation that S7 traffic to and from a specific PLC is highly periodic; as a result, each HMI-PLC channel can be modeled using its own unique Deterministic Finite Automaton (DFA). The resulting DFA-based IDS is very sensitive and is able to flag anomalies such as a message appearing out of its position in the normal sequence …

Understanding Computer Forensics Requirements In China Via The “Panda Burning Incense” Virus Case, Frank Law, K. P. Chow, Y. H. Mai

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

In March 2012, Mainland China has amended its Criminal Procedure Law, which includes the introduction of a new type of evidence, i.e., digital evidence, to the court of law. To better understand the development of computer forensics and digital evidence in Mainland China, this paper discusses the Chinese legal system in relation to digital investigation and how the current legal requirements affect the existing legal and technical usage of digital evidence at legal proceedings. Through studying the famous “Panda Burning Incense (Worm.WhBoy.cw)” virus case that happened in 2007, this paper aims to provide a better understanding of how to properly …

Forensics Of Software Copyright Infringement Crimes: The Modern Posar Test Juxtaposed With The Dated Afc Test, Vinod P. Bhattathiripad

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

This paper presents a new development in the forensics of software copyright through a juxtaposed comparison between the proven AFC test and the recent POSAR test, the two forensic procedures for establishing software copyright infringement cases. First, the paper separately overviews the 3-stage, linear sequential AFC test and then the 5-phase, cyclic POSAR test (as AFC’s logical extension). The paper then compares the processes involved in each of the 5 phases of the POSAR test with the processes involved in the 3 stages in the AFC test, for the benefit of forensic practitioners and researchers. Finally, the paper discusses some …

Leveraging Decentralization To Extend The Digital Evidence Acquisition Window: Case Study On Bittorrent Sync, Mark Scanlon, Jason Farina, Nhien A. Khac, Tahar Kechadi

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

File synchronization services such as Dropbox, Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, Apple iCloud, etc., are becoming increasingly popular in today’s always-connected world. A popular alternative to the aforementioned services is BitTorrent Sync. This is a decentralized/cloudless file synchronization service and is gaining significant popularity among Internet users with privacy concerns over where their data is stored and who has the ability to access it. The focus of this paper is the remote recovery of digital evidence pertaining to files identified as being accessed or stored on a suspect’s computer or mobile device. A methodology for the identification, investigation, recovery and verification …

An Efficient Similarity Digests Database Lookup – A Logarithmic Divide & Conquer Approach, Frank Breitinger, Christian Rathgeb, Harald Baier

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Investigating seized devices within digital forensics represents a challenging task due to the increasing amount of data. Common procedures utilize automated file identification, which reduces the amount of data an investigator has to examine manually. In the past years the research field of approximate matching arises to detect similar data. However, if n denotes the number of similarity digests in a database, then the lookup for a single similarity digest is of complexity of O(n). This paper presents a concept to extend existing approximate matching algorithms, which reduces the lookup complexity from O(n) to O(log(n)). Our proposed approach is based …

Audit: Automated Disk Investigation Toolkit, Umit Karabiyik, Sudhir Aggarwal

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Software tools designed for disk analysis play a critical role today in forensics investigations. However, these digital forensics tools are often difficult to use, usually task specific, and generally require professionally trained users with IT backgrounds. The relevant tools are also often open source requiring additional technical knowledge and proper configuration. This makes it difficult for investigators without some computer science background to easily conduct the needed disk analysis. In this paper, we present AUDIT, a novel automated disk investigation toolkit that supports investigations conducted by non-expert (in IT and disk technology) and expert investigators. Our proof of concept design …