Forensic Science and Technology Commons^™

The Application Of Chemometrics To The Detection And Classification Of Ignitable Liquids In Fire Debris Using The Total Ion Spectrum, Jennifer N. Lewis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Current methods in ignitable liquid identification and classification from fire debris rely on pattern recognition of ignitable liquids in total ion chromatograms, extracted ion profiles, and target compound comparisons, as described in American Standards for Testing and Materials E1618-10. The total ion spectra method takes advantage of the reproducibility among sample spectra from the same American Society for Testing and Materials class. It is a method that is independent of the chromatographic conditions that affect retention times of target compounds, thus aiding in the use of computer-based library searching techniques. The total ion spectrum was obtained by summing the ion …

Forensic Analysis Of Plug Computers, Scott Conrad, Greg Dorn, Philip Craiger

Publications

A plug computer is essentially a cross between an embedded computer and a traditional computer, and with many of the same capabilities. However, the architecture of a plug computer makes it difficult to apply commonly used digital forensic methods. This paper describes methods for extracting and analyzing digital evidence from plug computers. Two popular plug computer models are examined, the SheevaPlug and the Pogoplug.

Column: File Cabinet Forensics, Simson Garfinkel

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Researchers can spend their time reverse engineering, performing reverse analysis, or making substantive contributions to digital forensics science. Although work in all of these areas is important, it is the scientific breakthroughs that are the most critical for addressing the challenges that we face. Reverse Engineering is the traditional bread-and-butter of digital forensics research. Companies like Microsoft and Apple deliver computational artifacts (operating systems, applications and phones) to the commercial market. These artifacts are bought and used by billions. Some have evil intent, and (if society is lucky), the computers end up in the hands of law enforcement. Unfortunately the …

Column: Putting The Science In Digital Forensics, Fred Cohen

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

In a recent study, digital forensics was found to lack a consensus around even the most basis notions and terminology of the field. To quote: “These two preliminary studies individually suggest that (1) scientific consensus in the area of digital forensic evidence examination is lacking in the broad sense, but that different groups within that overall community may have limited consensus around areas in which they have special expertise, and (2) that the current peerreviewed publication process is not acting to bring about the sorts of elements typically found in the advancement of a science toward such a consensus. ... …

Technology Corner: Internet Packet Sniffers, Nick V. Flor, Kenneth Guillory

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

The best way to understand an internet packet sniffer, hereafter “packet sniffer”, is by analogy with a wiretap. A wiretap is a piece of hardware that allows a person to eavesdrop on phone conversations over a telephone network. Similarly, a packet sniffer is a piece of software that allows a person to eavesdrop on computer communications over the internet. A packet sniffer can be used as a diagnostic tool by network administrators or as a spying tool by hackers who can use it to steal passwords and other private information from computer users. Whether you are a network administrator or …

Sampling: Making Electronic Discovery More Cost Effective, Milton Luoma, Vicki Luoma

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

With the huge volumes of electronic data subject to discovery in virtually every instance of litigation, time and costs of conducting discovery have become exceedingly important when litigants plan their discovery strategies. Rather than incurring the costs of having lawyers review every document produced in response to a discovery request in search of relevant evidence, a cost effective strategy for document review planning is to use statistical sampling of the database of documents to determine the likelihood of finding relevant evidence by reviewing additional documents. This paper reviews and discusses how sampling can be used to make document review more …

Column: The Physics Of Digital Information, Fred Cohen

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

No abstract provided.

Developing A Forensic Continuous Audit Model, Grover S. Kearns, Katherine J. Barker, Stephen P. Danese

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Despite increased attention to internal controls and risk assessment, traditional audit approaches do not seem to be highly effective in uncovering the majority of frauds. Less than 20 percent of all occupational frauds are uncovered by auditors. Forensic accounting has recognized the need for automated approaches to fraud analysis yet research has not examined the benefits of forensic continuous auditing as a method to detect and deter corporate fraud. The purpose of this paper is to show how such an approach is possible. A model is presented that supports the acceptance of forensic continuous auditing by auditors and management as …

Analysis Of Data Remaining On Second Hand Adsl Routers, Patryk Szewczyk

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

In theory, an ADSL router can provide an additional layer of security to a wired and wireless network through; access control, wireless encryption, firewall rule sets, and network event logging. An ADSL router may also contain the users’ usage habits and broadband account credentials. However, end-users may be unaware of the intricacies of the security measures available and the potentially confidential information stored on their device. As a result a second hand ADSL router may contain a wealth of user-specific information if not wiped and disposed of in a secure manner. This paper shows the data that was acquired from …

Book Review: Online Privacy: Issues In The Digital Age, Darlene M. Tester

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

This book is one of a series of books Currie has written about online areas of concern. This is the sixth book in the series. The purpose of the book is to act as a primer for people in the IT field who may need a point of reference for Internet issues such as gaming, security and privacy. The book takes a high level look at the complexities of privacy online from social networking to hackers and provides insight into what the most pressing issues of privacy are online today.

Table Of Contents

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

No abstract provided.

Technology Corner: Virtual Crime Scene Reconstruction: The Basics Of 3d Modeling, Nick V. Flor

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Digital crime scenes take place in the context of physical crime scenes. Virtual crime scene reconstruction is an activity where investigators create a 3- dimensional (3-D) model of an actual crime scene for the purpose of determining the events that lead to the crime. While virtual crime scene reconstruction is currently used for analyzing physical scenes, it can also help investigators visualize and explore ways digital media could have been used to perpetrate a crime. In this technology corner we explore one of the technologies underlying virtual crime scene reconstruction: 3-D modeling.

Working Inside The Box: An Example Of Google Desktop Search In A Forensic Examination, Timothy J. Latulippe

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Information and the technological advancements for which mankind develops with regards to its storage has increased tremendously over the past few decades. As the total amount of data stored rapidly increases in conjunction with the amount of widely available computer-driven devices being used, solutions are being developed to better harness this data. These types of advancements are continually assisting investigators and computer forensic examiners. One such application which houses copious amounts of fruitful data is the Google Desktop Search program. Coupled with tested and verified techniques, examiners can exploit the power of this application to cater to their investigative needs. …

Table Of Contents

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Iphone And Ios Forensics: Investigation, Analysis And Mobile Security For Apple Iphone, Ipad And Ios Devices, Christopher Schulte

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

These are exciting times for Digital Forensics practitioners. While our examinations of mobile devices (including cell phones and tablet computers) continue to bring new and sometimes hair-pulling challenges into our labs and on-site engagements, research and understanding of these tiny computers is increasing at what seems an exponential rate. This is especially true in the iOS (Apple Computer’s mobile operating system that powers the iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and Apple TV) space. The diligent work of talented computer scientists in this field allows examiners everywhere to reap the benefits of easier, faster and more effective examinations that yield more accurate …

Investigating Modern Communication Technologies: The Effect Of Internet-Based Communication Technologies On The Investigation Process, Matthew Simon, Jill Slay

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Communication technologies are commonplace in modern society. For many years there were only a handful of communication technologies provided by large companies, namely the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) and mobile telephony; these can be referred to as traditional communication technologies. Over the lifetime of traditional communication technologies has been little technological evolution and as such, law enforcement developed sound methods for investigating targets using them. With the advent of communication technologies that use the Internet – Internet-based or contemporary communication technologies – law enforcement are faced with many challenges. This paper discusses these challenges and their potential impact. It …

Potential Responses To The Melendez-Diaz Line Of Cases, Richard D. Friedman

Articles

Criminal prosecution is increasingly dependent on proof of the results of forensic laboratory tests. They are used, for example, to prove that a given substance contains cocaine; the prove what a driver’s blood alcohol content was; and to demonstrate that the DNA profile of some substance found at the crime scene matches that of the accused.

In Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts, 129 S.Ct. 2527 (2009), the United States Supreme Court resolved a question that had divided the lower courts in the wake of Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36 (2004). The Melendez-Diaz Court held by a 5-4 vote that forensic laboratory …

The Relative Recoverability Of Dna And Rna Profiles From Forensically Relevant Body Fluid Stains, Charly Parker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Biological material (fluids or tissues) whether from the victim or suspect is often collected as forensic evidence, and methods to obtain and analyze the DNA found in that material have been well established. The type of body fluid (i.e. blood, saliva, semen, vaginal secretions, and menstrual blood) from which the DNA originated is also of interest, and messenger RNA typing provides a specific and sensitive means of body fluid identification. In order for mRNA profiling to be utilized in routine forensic casework, RNA of sufficient quantity and quality must be obtained from biological fluid stains and the methods used for …

Table Of Contents

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

No abstract provided.

A Survey Of Contemporary Enterprise Storage Technologies From A Digital Forensics Perspective, Gregory H. Carlton, Joseph Matsumoto

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

As the proliferation of digital computational systems continue to expand, increasingly complex technologies emerge, including those regarding large, enterprise-wide, information storage and retrieval systems. Within this study, we examine four contemporary enterprise storage technologies. Our examination of these technologies is presented with an overview of the technological features of each offering and then followed with a discussion of the impact of these technologies on digital forensics methods, particularly regarding forensic data acquisition. We offer a general opinion concerning a recommended data acquisition method when faced with the task of obtaining a forensic image of data contained within these technologies, we …