Automated Computer Forensics

From Simson Garfinkel
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We are developing a variety of techniques and tools for performing Automated Document and Media Exploitation (ADOMEX). The thrust of this research consists of several thrusts:

  1. Developing open source tools for working with electronic evidence. This work is part of the AFF project.
  2. Developing an unclassified Real Data Corpus (RDC) consisting of "real data from real people" that can be used to develop new algorithms and test automated tools.
  3. Developing new algorithms and approaches for working in a "data-rich environment."

Recent Research Developments

File-based Forensics

  • We have developed a prototype system for performing automated media forensic reporting. Based on PyFlag, the system performs an in-depth analysis of captured media, locates local and online identities, and presents summary information in a report that is tailed to be easy for the consumer of forensic intelligence. Details can be found in A Framework for Automated Digital Forensic Reporting, Lt. Paul Farrell, Master's Thesis, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA, March 2009

Bulk Data Forensics

We have developed a tool called frag_find which can report if sectors of a TARGET file are present on a disk image. This is useful in cases where a TARGET file has been stolen and you wish to establish that the file has been present on a subject's drive. If most of the TARGET file's sectors are found on the IMAGE drive---and if the sectors are in consecutive sector runs---then the chances are excellent that the file was once there. Frag_find performs this search using time-and-space efficient data structures arranged in multiple filtering layers. The program deals with the problem of non-unique blocks by looking for runs of matching blocks, rather than individual blocks. Frag_find is part of the NPS Bloom package, which can be downloaded from http://www.afflib.org.

Relevant Publications