Forensic Science and Technology Commons^™

Beyond Dna: Epigenetics And Proteomics In Forensic Science, Diane F. Eilerts

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

The use of genetic evidence in criminal cases is well established and has improved the public opinion and credibility of forensic science. However, several shortcomings associated with current genetic profiling techniques exist. Scientific research aimed at increasing the overall knowledge and understanding of biological factors will lead to the development of methods capable of improving the discriminating power of DNA evidence, overcoming limitations associated with DNA evidence, or complementing current methods of DNA profiling. Increased research in the fields of epigenetics and proteomics are particularly promising and relevant to forensic science. Research suggests that epigenetic biomarkers can be used to …

Form-Blindness And Its Implications: A Verification Study, Meredith G. Moody

Honors Theses

Form-blindness is not an eye problem. It is a perceptual inability to distinguish the small differences between shapes, colors, and patterns. This research examines this phenomenon by using a previously-established exam to study form-blindness and its implications. Demographic variables such as age, major, GPA, and sex are also looked at to see what potential impact they might have on a person’s performance on the exam. The form-blindness tests administered during this study were graded and then analyzed using descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression. In the end, no statistical significance was found for the demographic variables of age, GPA, major, …

A Validation Study Of Zar-Pro Fluorescent Blood Lifting Strips, Carter L. Depew

Honors Theses

It is well known within the latent fingerprint discipline that collection of bloody impressions can be difficult and destructive. This pilot study aims to validate the use of Zar-Pro Fluorescent Blood Lifting Strips© in the collection of bloody fingerprint impressions, and then compare the technique outcomes that of the currently used method – photography. This study used both collection methods to extract bloody impressions from white copy paper and aluminum metal. The impressions were aged over a two-week period prior to collection. A numerical score – representative of the identifiable minutiae points – was then obtained using the Smart Extract …

Program And Proceedings: Nebraska Academy Of Sciences 1880–2016, 136th Anniversary Year, One Hundred-Twenty-Sixth Annual Meeting

Nebraska Academy of Sciences: Programs and Proceedings

Program

Aeronautics and Space Science

Chemistry and Physics

Collegiate Academy: Biology

Earth Science

Biological and Medical Sciences

Anthropology

Collegiate Academy: Chemistry and Physics

Environmental Sciences

Aeronautics and Space Science, Poster Session

Maiben Memorial Lecture: Juliane Soukup, “Riboswitches Turn Students onto Research” Teaching of Science and Mathematics

Applied Science and Technology

History and Philosophy of Science

A Cyber Forensics Needs Analysis Survey: Revisiting The Domain's Needs A Decade Later, Vikram S. Harichandran, Frank Breitinger, Ibrahim Baggili, Andrew Marrington

Electrical & Computer Engineering and Computer Science Faculty Publications

The number of successful cyber attacks continues to increase, threatening financial and personal security worldwide. Cyber/digital forensics is undergoing a paradigm shift in which evidence is frequently massive in size, demands live acquisition, and may be insufficient to convict a criminal residing in another legal jurisdiction. This paper presents the findings of the first broad needs analysis survey in cyber forensics in nearly a decade, aimed at obtaining an updated consensus of professional attitudes in order to optimize resource allocation and to prioritize problems and possible solutions more efficiently. Results from the 99 respondents gave compelling testimony that the following …

A Method And A Case Study For The Selection Of The Best Available Tool For Mobile Device Forensics Using Decision Analysis, Shahzad Saleem, Oliver Popov, Ibrahim Baggili

Electrical & Computer Engineering and Computer Science Faculty Publications

The omnipresence of mobile devices (or small scale digital devices - SSDD) and more importantly the utility of their associated applications for our daily activities, which range from financial transactions to learning, and from entertainment to distributed social presence, create an abundance of digital evidence for each individual. Some of the evidence may be a result of illegal activities that need to be identified, understood and eventually prevented in the future. There are numerous tools for acquiring and analyzing digital evidence extracted from mobile devices. The diversity of SSDDs, types of evidence generated and the number of tools used to …

Quick Mass Screening Methods Of Potential Mass Murderers & Killers By Car Accidents From Recent Facial Photographs, Yoshiaki Omura

NYMC Faculty Conference Abstracts

Recently, there have been many mass murders of innocent people in various places. We found simple, quick, reliable method of detecting those potential murderers. These potential murderers can be screened from pupils of facial photographs used for various application forms in less than 4 min. by finding large negative value of (-)9~(-)12 of abnormal opening (-) of non-invasive O-Ring Test in one or both sides of the pupil, using BDORT which received US patent in 1993. Presence or absence of microorganism infection can be screened non-invasively by the use of broad-spectrum anti-viral, anti-bacterial, and anti-fungal agent within 3 min. An …

Improving Forensic Software Tool Performance In Detecting Fraud For Financial Statements, Brian Cusack, Tau’Aho Ahokov

Australian Digital Forensics Conference

The use of computer forensics is important for forensic accounting practice because most accounting information is in digital forms today. The access to evidence is increasingly more complex and in far greater volumes than in previous decades. The effective and efficient means of detecting fraud are required for the public to maintain their confidence in the reliability of accounting audit and the reputation of accounting firms. The software tools used by forensic accounting can be called into question. Many appear inadequate when faced with the complexity of fraud and there needs to be the development of automated and specialist problem-solving …

Overcoming Human Trafficking Via Operations Research And Analytics: Opportunities For Methods, Models, And Applications, Renata A. Konrad, Andrew C. Trapp, Timothy Palmbach

Forensic Science Publications

Human trafficking is a transnational complex societal and economic issue. While human trafficking has been studied in a variety of contexts, including criminology, sociological, and clinical domains, to date there has been very little coverage in the operations research (OR) and analytics community. This paper highlights how operations research and analytics techniques can be used to address the growing issue of human trafficking. It is intended to give insight to operations research and analytics professionals into the unique concerns, problems, and challenges in human trafficking; the relevance of OR and analytics to key pillars of human trafficking including prevention, protection, …

Species Identification Of Golden And Bald Eagle Talons Using Morphometrics, Avery J. Appleton, R. Christopher O'Brien, Pepper W. Trail

Forensic Science Publications

The Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) and Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) are the largest avian predators in North America, and are thus species of great ecological importance and cultural significance. There is a long history of human use of eagle body parts, and this use continues today: Bald and Golden eagles are among the North American birds most affected by the illegal wildlife trade. Detached eagle talons are often recovered in both law enforcement and archaeological contexts, but data to allow morphological identification of these talons have been lacking. This study documents measureable differences in the morphology of Bald Eagle and …

Screening Of Exosomal Micrornas From Colorectal Cancer Cells, Cillian Clancy, Sonja Khan, Claire L. Glynn, Emma Holian, Peter Dockery, Pierce Lalor, James A.L. Brown, Myles Joyce, Michael J. Kerin, Roisin M. Dwyer

Forensic Science Publications

BACKGROUND: Cells release extracellular membrane vesicles including microvesicles known as exosomes. Exosomes contain microRNAs (miRNAs) however the full range within colorectal cancer cell secreted exosomes is unknown. OBJECTIVE: To identify the full range of exosome encapsulated miRNAs secreted from 2 colorectal cancer cell lines and to investigate engineering of exosomes over-expressing miRNAs. METHODS: Exosomes were isolated from HCT-116 and HT-29 cell lines. RNA was extracted from exosomes and microRNA array performed. Cells were engineered to express miR-379 (HCT-116-379) or a non-targeting control (HCT-116-NTC) and functional effects were determined. Exosomes secreted by engineered cells were transferred to recipient cells and the …

Bytewise Approximate Matching: The Good, The Bad, And The Unknown, Vikram S. Harichandran, Frank Breitinger, Ibrahim Baggili

Electrical & Computer Engineering and Computer Science Faculty Publications

Hash functions are established and well-known in digital forensics, where they are commonly used for proving integrity and file identification (i.e., hash all files on a seized device and compare the fingerprints against a reference database). However, with respect to the latter operation, an active adversary can easily overcome this approach because traditional hashes are designed to be sensitive to altering an input; output will significantly change if a single bit is flipped. Therefore, researchers developed approximate matching, which is a rather new, less prominent area but was conceived as a more robust counterpart to traditional hashing. Since the conception …

A Study Of The Fepac Accredited Graduate Forensic Science Programs' Curricula, Catherine Genice Rushton

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The National Institute of Justice (1999) and the National Academy of Sciences (2009) recommended that forensic science training shift from on-the-job training to formal education. However, the reports cited inconsistencies in the curricula of the forensic science degree programs as an impediment to this. The Forensic Science Education Programs Accreditation Commission (FEPAC) Standards were created to address this issue; however, no studies have been conducted to determine how the accreditation standards have been implemented by the FEPAC accredited graduate programs. This study evaluated the self-study responses (n=11) and website information (n=17) specific to FEPAC’s Graduate Curriculum Standards to determine how …

Exploring Deviant Hacker Networks (Dhm) On Social Media Platforms, Samer Al-Khateeb, Kevin J. Conlan, Nitin Agarwal, Ibrahim Baggili, Frank Breitinger

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Online Social Networks (OSNs) have grown exponentially over the past decade. The initial use of social media for benign purposes (e.g., to socialize with friends, browse pictures and photographs, and communicate with family members overseas) has now transitioned to include malicious activities (e.g., cybercrime, cyberterrorism, and cyberwarfare). These nefarious uses of OSNs poses a significant threat to society, and thus requires research attention. In this exploratory work, we study activities of one deviant groups: hacker groups on social media, which we term Deviant Hacker Networks (DHN). We investigated the connection between different DHNs on Twitter: how they are connected, identified …

Log Analysis Using Temporal Logic And Reconstruction Approach: Web Server Case, Murat Gunestas, Zeki Bilgin

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

We present a post-mortem log analysis method based on Temporal Logic (TL), Event Processing Language (EPL), and reconstruction approach. After showing that the proposed method could be adapted to any misuse event or attack, we specifically investigate the case of web server misuses. To this end, we examine 5 different misuses on Wordpress web servers, and generate corresponding log files of these attacks for forensic analysis. Then we establish attack patterns and formalize them by means of a special case of temporal logic, i.e. many sorted first order metric temporal logic (MSFOMTL). Later on, we implement these attack patterns in …

Development Of Molecularly Imprinted Polymers For Forensic Applications, Sara Martinez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In some forensic disciplines various methods of extraction are used to perform analysis. Among these methods, solid phase extraction (SPE) and solid phase microextraction (SPME) are used in fields such as toxicology and explosives analysis. To enhance extraction efficiency in SPE and SPME, molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs), which are designer polymers, can be more selective for the binding of an analyte or group of analytes that are similarly structured. Separation of analytes from complex mixtures is possible by utilizing these polymers. This may be especially useful in forensic applications where sample sizes may be small and composition may be complex. …

Mongodb Incidence Response, Cory Morales

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

NoSQL (Not only SQL) databases have been gaining some popularity over the last few years. Such big companies as Expedia, Shutterfly, MetLife, and Forbes use NoSQL databases to manage data on different projects. These databases can contain a variety of information ranging from nonproprietary data to personally identifiable information like social security numbers. Databases run the risk of cyber intrusion at all times. This paper gives a brief explanation of NoSQL and thoroughly explains a method of Incidence Response with MongoDB, a NoSQL database provider. This method involves an automated process with a new self-built software tool that analyzing MongoDB …

Low Budget Forensic Drive Imaging Using Arm Based Single Board Computers, Eric Olson, Narasimha Shashidhar

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Traditional forensic analysis of hard disks and external media typically involves a powered down machine and “dead analysis” of these devices. Forensic acquisition of hard drives and external media has traditionally been by one of several means: standalone forensic duplicator; using a hardware write-blocker or dock attached to a laptop, computer, workstation, etc., forensic operating systems that live boot from a USB, CD/DVD or virtual machines with preinstalled operating systems. Standalone forensics acquisition and imaging devices generally cost thousands of dollars. In this paper, we propose the use of single board computers as forensic imaging devices. Single board computers can …

In-The-Wild Residual Data Research And Privacy, William B. Glisson, Tim Storer, Andrew Blyth, George Grispos, Matt Campbell

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

As the world becomes increasingly dependent on technology, researchers in both industry and academia endeavor to understand how technology is used, the impact it has on everyday life, the artifact life-cycle and overall integrations of digital information. In doing so, researchers are increasingly gathering 'real-world' or 'in-the-wild' residual data, obtained from a variety of sources, without the explicit consent of the original owners. This data gathering raises significant concerns regarding privacy, ethics and legislation, as well as practical considerations concerning investigator training, data storage, overall security and data disposal. This research surveys recent studies of residual data gathered in-the-wild and …

Bytewise Approximate Matching: The Good, The Bad, And The Unknown, Vikram S. Harichandran, Frank Breitinger, Ibrahim Baggili

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Hash functions are established and well-known in digital forensics, where they are commonly used for proving integrity and file identification (i.e., hash all files on a seized device and compare the fingerprints against a reference database). However, with respect to the latter operation, an active adversary can easily overcome this approach because traditional hashes are designed to be sensitive to altering an input; output will significantly change if a single bit is flipped. Therefore, researchers developed approximate matching, which is a rather new, less prominent area but was conceived as a more robust counterpart to traditional hashing. Since the conception …