The Potential for cross-drive analysis using automated digital forensic timelines

Cross-Drive Analysis (CDA) is a technique designed to allow an investigator to “simultaneously consider information from across a corpus of many data sources”. Existing approaches include multi-drive correlation using text searching, e.g. email addresses, message IDs, credit card numbers or social security numbers. Such techniques have the potential to identify drives of interest from a large set, provide additional information about events that occurred on a single disk, and potentially determine social network membership. Another analysis technique that has significantly advanced in recent years is the use of timelines. Tools currently exist that can extract dates and times from the file system metadata (i.e. MACE times) and also examine the content of certain file types and extract metadata from within. This approach provides a great deal of data that can assist with an investigation, but also compounds the problem of having too much data to examine. A recent paper adds an additional timeline analysis capability, by automatically producing a high-level summary of the activity on a computer system, by combining sets of low-level events into high-level events, for example reducing a setupapi event and several events from the Windows Registry to a single event of ‘a USB stick was connected’. This paper provides an investigation into the extent to which events in such a high-level timeline have the properties suitable to assist with Cross-Drive Analysis. The paper provides several examples that use timelines generated from multiple disk images, including USB stick connections, Skype calls, and access to files on a memory card

Data reduction and data mining framework for digital forensic evidence: storage, intelligence, review and archive

With the volume of digital forensic evidence rapidly increasing, this paper proposes a data reduction and data mining framework that incorporates a process of reducing data volume by focusing on a subset of information. Foreword The volume of digital forensic evidence is rapidly increasing, leading to large backlogs. In this paper, a Digital Forensic Data Reduction and Data Mining Framework is proposed. Initial research with sample data from South Australia Police Electronic Crime Section and Digital Corpora Forensic Images using the proposed framework resulted in significant reduction in the storage requirements—the reduced subset is only 0.196 percent and 0.75 percent respectively of the original data volume. The framework outlined is not suggested to replace full analysis, but serves to provide a rapid triage, collection, intelligence analysis, review and storage methodology to support the various stages of digital forensic examinations. Agencies that can undertake rapid assessment of seized data can more effectively target specific criminal matters. The framework may also provide a greater potential intelligence gain from analysis of current and historical data in a timely manner, and the ability to undertake research of trends over time

Privacy Preserving Internet Browsers: Forensic Analysis of Browzar

With the advance of technology, Criminal Justice agencies are being confronted with an increased need to investigate crimes perpetuated partially or entirely over the Internet. These types of crime are known as cybercrimes. In order to conceal illegal online activity, criminals often use private browsing features or browsers designed to provide total browsing privacy. The use of private browsing is a common challenge faced in for example child exploitation investigations, which usually originate on the Internet. Although private browsing features are not designed specifically for criminal activity, they have become a valuable tool for criminals looking to conceal their online activity. As such, Technological Crime units often focus their forensic analysis on thoroughly examining the web history on a computer. Private browsing features and browsers often require a more in-depth, post mortem analysis. This often requires the use of multiple tools, as well as different forensic approaches to uncover incriminating evidence. This evidence may be required in a court of law, where analysts are often challenged both on their findings and on the tools and approaches used to recover evidence. However, there are very few research on evaluating of private browsing in terms of privacy preserving as well as forensic acquisition and analysis of privacy preserving internet browsers. Therefore in this chapter, we firstly review the private mode of popular internet browsers. Next, we describe the forensic acquisition and analysis of Browzar, a privacy preserving internet browser and compare it with other popular internet browser

A comparison of forensic evidence recovery techniques for a windows mobile smart phone

<p>Acquisition, decoding and presentation of information from mobile devices is complex and challenging. Device memory is usually integrated into the device, making isolation prior to recovery difficult. In addition, manufacturers have adopted a variety of file systems and formats complicating decoding and presentation.</p> <p>A variety of tools and methods have been developed (both commercially and in the open source community) to assist mobile forensics investigators. However, it is unclear to what extent these tools can present a complete view of the information held on a mobile device, or the extent the results produced by different tools are consistent.</p> <p>This paper investigates what information held on a Windows Mobile smart phone can be recovered using several different approaches to acquisition and decoding. The paper demonstrates that no one technique recovers all information of potential forensic interest from a Windows Mobile device; and that in some cases the information recovered is conflicting.</p&gt

BitTorrent Sync: First Impressions and Digital Forensic Implications

With professional and home Internet users becoming increasingly concerned with data protection and privacy, the privacy afforded by popular cloud file synchronisation services, such as Dropbox, OneDrive and Google Drive, is coming under scrutiny in the press. A number of these services have recently been reported as sharing information with governmental security agencies without warrants. BitTorrent Sync is seen as an alternative by many and has gathered over two million users by December 2013 (doubling since the previous month). The service is completely decentralised, offers much of the same synchronisation functionality of cloud powered services and utilises encryption for data transmission (and optionally for remote storage). The importance of understanding BitTorrent Sync and its resulting digital investigative implications for law enforcement and forensic investigators will be paramount to future investigations. This paper outlines the client application, its detected network traffic and identifies artefacts that may be of value as evidence for future digital investigations.Comment: Proc. of Digtial Forensics Research Workshop (DFRWS EU 2014

Forensic Analysis of the Windows 7 Registry

The recovery of digital evidence of crimes from storage media is an increasingly time consuming process as the capacity of the storage media is in a state of constant growth. It is also a difficult and complex task for the forensic investigator to analyse all of the locations in the storage media. These two factors, when combined, may result in a delay in bringing a case to court. The concept of this paper is to start the initial forensic analysis of the storage media in locations that are most likely to contain digital evidence, the Windows Registry. Consequently, the forensic analysis process and the recovery of digital evidence may take less time than would otherwise be required. In this paper, the Registry structure of Windows 7 is discussed together with several elements of information within the Registry of Windows 7 that may be valuable to a forensic investigator. These elements were categorized into five groups which are system, application, networks, attached devices and the history lists. We have discussed the values of identified elements to a forensic investigator. Also, a tool was implemented to perform the function of extracting these elements and presents them in usable form to a forensics investigator

Forensic Analysis of the Windows 7 Registry

The recovery of digital evidence of crimes from storage media is an increasingly time consuming process as the capacity of the storage media is in a state of constant growth. It is also a difficult and complex task for the forensic investigator to analyse all of the locations in the storage media. These two factors, when combined, may result in a delay in bringing a case to court. The concept of this paper is to start the initial forensic analysis of the storage media in locations that are most likely to contain digital evidence, the Windows Registry. Consequently, the forensic analysis process and the recovery of digital evidence may take less time than would otherwise be required. In this paper, the Registry structure of Windows 7 is discussed together with several elements of information within the Registry of Windows 7 that may be valuable to a forensic investigator. These elements were categorized into five groups which are system, application, networks, attached devices and the history lists. We have discussed the values of identified elements to a forensic investigator. Also, a tool was implemented to perform the function of extracting these elements and presents them in usable form to a forensics investigator