TOWARDS FULLY AUTOMATED DIGITAL ALIBIS WITH SOCIAL INTERACTION

Digital traces found on local hard drives as a result of online activities have become very valuable in reconstructing events in digital forensic investigations. This paper demonstrates that forged alibis can be created for online activities and social interactions. In particular, a novel, automated framework is presented that uses social interactions to create false digital alibis. The framework simulates user activity and supports communications via email as well as instant messaging using a chatbot. The framework is evaluated by extracting forensic artifacts and comparing them with the results obtained from a human user study

Does the seriousness of a crime impact memory detection? A mock-crime experiment combining the autobiographical Implicit Association Test (aIAT) with eye-tracking.

openThe identification of a memory trace related to a specific event is a crucial issue in forensic contexts. In the last years, the research on memory detection techniques has led to the identification of several neurophysiological and behavioral indices. Among the behavioral approaches, those based on reaction-times (RTs) have been extensively studied and the autobiographical Implicit Association Test (aIAT) is considered one of the most reliable techniques for forensic applications, despite some limitations. For instance, an open question is whether the use of neuroscientific techniques in forensic contexts can be differentially impacted by the type and the degree of a crime. This is a critical issue, especially in relation to crimes associated with sexual harassment. The aim of this study is to examine whether and how the performance at the aIAT can be affected by the degree of a crime (i.e., soft vs. hard) and whether the combination of aIAT and eye-tracking can outperform the aIAT alone in identifying the true memory. We expect behavioral performance to be modulated by the severity of the crime, with soft crimes being detected less accurately by focusing on the aIAT alone. Nevertheless, we expect accuracy to be higher when the behavioral performance is analyzed together with its oculomotor correlates

Tapp v. State Appellant\u27s Brief Dckt. 41056

https://digitalcommons.law.uidaho.edu/not_reported/2449/thumbnail.jp

An Investigation of Factors that Create and Mitigate Confirmation Bias in Judgments of Handwriting Evidence

Over a century of basic cognitive and social psychological research shows that humans naturally seek out, perceive, and interpret evidence in ways that serve to validate their prevailing beliefs (i.e., confirmation bias; Nickerson, 1998). In criminal justice settings, a priori beliefs regarding the guilt or innocence of a suspect can likewise guide the collection, interpretation, and appraisal of evidence in a self-verifying manner (i.e., forensic confirmation bias; Kassin, Dror, & Kukucka, 2013). Recently, confirmation bias has been implicated as a source of forensic science errors in wrongful conviction cases (e.g., National Academy of Sciences, 2009; Risinger, Saks, Rosenthal, & Thompson, 2002). Accordingly, many have suggested procedural reforms to mitigate the detrimental impact of unconscious bias on judgments of forensic evidence. Three studies tested the effects of exposure to case information and evidence lineup use on judgments of handwriting evidence in a mock investigation. In Studies 1 and 2, participants who were aware of a suspect\u27s confession rated non-matching handwriting samples from the suspect and perpetrator as more similar to each other, and were more likely to misjudge them as having been authored by the same individual. The findings of Studies 1 and 2 thus further raise growing concerns over allowing forensic science examiners access to case information that can unwittingly produce confirmation bias and result in erroneous judgments. In Study 2, the use of a simultaneous evidence lineup increased choosing rates relative to an evidence showup, and produced a corresponding decrease in judgment accuracy. In Study 3, sequential evidence lineups dramatically reduced false identifications relative to simultaneous lineups, without causing a significant reduction in correct identifications. By showing parallel effects between forensic evidence lineup identification and eyewitness lineup identification, Studies 2 and 3 suggest the potential value of evidence lineups as a means of protecting against bias and reducing systematic error in judgments of forensic evidence

The influence of interview style on SIOs’ responsiveness to the suspect’s alibi

In criminal investigations it may happen that the police will collect and use information that is actually incorrect. Making sure that such error is detected and corrected is part of the legal and operational burden placed on any investigating officer, but especially on the Senior Investigative Officer (SIO). This present study explored to what degree different interview styles will affect SIO decision-making, since interviewing witnesses and suspects is an important source of information for the police. A sample of 115 Dutch and Norwegian SIOs therefore performed an online vignette task. They read about a fictitious, but realistic case and received a report of an interview with the suspect. In this interview the suspect had provided an alibi for one of the pieces of information that were disclosed to her, and that actually was an incorrect piece of information. In the report the SIOs received, the interviewer either picked up the alibi (adaptive condition), reacted indifferently to it (neutral) or discredited it right away (maladaptive). A significant effect was found for interview style being associated with SIOs’ responsiveness: the SIOs who read the adaptive or neutral interview report were significantly more responsive to the alibi than those who read the maladaptive report. The implications of this finding are discussed

A case study of the challenges of cyber forensics analysis of digital evidence in a child pornography trial

Perfunctory case analysis, lack of evidence validation, and an inability or unwillingness to present understandable analysis reports adversely affect the outcome course of legal trials reliant on digital evidence. These issues have serious consequences for defendants facing heavy penalties or imprisonment yet expect their defence counsel to have clear understanding of the evidence. Poorly reasoned, validated and presented digital evidence can result in conviction of the innocent as well as acquittal of the guilty. A possession of child pornography Case Study highlights the issues that appear to plague case analysis and presentation of digital evidence relied on in these odious crimes; crimes increasingly consuming the time, resources and expertise of law enforcement and the legal fraternity. The necessity to raise the standard and formalise examinations of digital evidence used in child pornography seems timely. The case study shows how structured analysis and presentation processes can enhance examinations. The case study emphasises the urgency to integrate vigorous validation processes into cyber forensics examinations to meet acceptable standard of cyber forensics examinations. The processes proposed in this Case Study enhance clarity in case management and ensure digital evidence is correctly analysed, contextualised and validated. This will benefit the examiner preparing the case evidence and help legal teams better understand the technical complexities involved

Downstream Competence Challenges and Legal/Ethical Risks in Digital Forensics

Forensic practice is an inherently human-mediated system, from processing and collection of evidence to presentation and judgment. This requires attention to human factors and risks which can lead to incorrect judgments and unjust punishments. For digital forensics, such challenges are magnified by the relative newness of the discipline and the use of electronic evidence in forensic proceedings. Traditional legal protections, rules of procedure and ethics rules mitigate these challenges. Application of those traditions better ensures forensic findings are reliable. This has significant consequences where findings may impact a person\u27s liberty or property, a person\u27s life or even the political direction of a nation. Conversely, a legal, procedural or ethical failure leads to a failure in the mission of the system of justice and of public security We examine this for digital forensics and outline a framework to mitigate the risk of a forensic and security failure

Visualizing DNA Proof

DNA proof inherently involves the use of probability theory, which is often counterintuitive. Visual depictions of probability theory, however, can clarify the analysis and make it tractable. A DNA hit from a large database is a notoriously difficult probabi­li­ty theory issue, yet the visuals should enable courts and juries to handle it. The Puckett facts are an example of a general approach: A search in a large DNA database produces a hit for a cold crime from 1972 San Francisco. Probability theory allows us to process the probabilities that someone else in the database, someone not in the database, or the initial suspect, Baker, may be the perpetrator and obtain the probability of Puckett’s guilt. Given the clarity of this analysis, decisions that do not follow it deserve reversal as clearly erroneous

automated production of predetermined digital evidence

Digital evidence is increasingly used in juridical proceedings. In some recent legal cases, the verdict has been strongly influenced by the digital evidence proffered by the defense. Digital traces can be left on computers, phones, digital cameras, and also on remote machines belonging to ISPs, telephone providers, companies that provide services via Internet such as YouTube, Facebook, Gmail, and so on. This paper presents a methodology for the automated production of predetermined digital evidence, which can be leveraged to forge a digital alibi. It is based on the use of an automation, a program meant to simulate any common user activity. In addition to wanted traces, the automation may produce a number of unwanted traces, which may be disclosed upon a digital forensic analysis. These include data remanence of suspicious files, as well as any kind of logs generated by the operating system modules and services. The proposed methodology describes a process to design, implement, and execute the automation on a target system, and to properly handle both wanted and unwanted evidence. Many experiments with different combinations of automation tools and operating systems are conducted. This paper presents an implementation of the methodology through VBScript on Windows 7. A forensic analysis on the target system is not sufficient to reveal that the alibi is forged by automation. These considerations emphasize the difference between digital and traditional evidence. Digital evidence is always circumstantial, and therefore it should be considered relevant only if supported by stronger evidence collected through traditional investigation techniques. Thus, a Court verdict should not be based solely on digital evidence

The use of historical call data records as evidence in the criminal justice system:- lessons learned from the Danish telecom scandal

Historical call data records (HCDR) are frequently used as evidence in criminal trials. However, several inherent uncertainties are associated with HCDR data, and, additionally, errors may occur when law enforcement processes the data. In Denmark, processing errors were introduced into HCDR from 2010 until 2019. The Danish authorities are currently reviewing more than 10,000 criminal cases in order to secure a fair trial. This article conducts a socio-technical analysis of the Danish telecom scandal, which shows that, in addition to the processing errors highlighted,1 sources of error are related to competence, cognitive factors and inadequate quality management