1. FILE CARVING:
Reassembling files from fragments of bytes/hex data on a digital device

2. IF the above data is in a .doc, .html, .txt THEN convert hex to ASCII
ASCII to Hex:
A  41 B  42 C  43 D  44 42
IF the above data is in a .doc, .html, .txt THEN convert hex to ASCII
IF .docx, .pdf THEN the content of the file has to be ‘mounted’ before being interpreted

3. “With the release of Office ‘07, Microsoft Word documents now use the same file format signature as a .ZIP file. If we were to view the entirety of the file with our HEX editor we would not uncover any legible ASCII characters. Why? The file structure and assembly instructions are contained within the file; thus, the file would need to be mounted by its native software in order for the contents to be viewed. Viewing and, more importantly, searching the contents of these “complex” files are possible once they are mounted. Forensic tools incorporate the software to mount these so that searching is possible”

4. 4D
The above code is the hex representation of a file
Find out the file type (extension) (.txt,.doc,.zip,.html,.png,.jpg)
What is the data stored in this file ?

5. HEX values represent pixel colors
.bmp file hex  color
.png, jpg: same issue as .docx and .pdf
File has to be mounted first, hex cannot be interpreted as colors

7.
Go to the link above and follow the step by step instructions
You will create a .bmp file by writing by writing hex code
Step 1: and select new file
Step 2: Paste the hex representation of the HEADER of a .bmp file
Step 3: Choose a number of pixels that is divisible by 4: 4*4, 8*8, 16*16
Step 4: Create an image that looks like the image below

8. Take a Break
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC

9. Legal and ethical issues
Computer Forensics
File Systems Forensics
Network Forensics
Mobile devices Forensics
(Cyber)crimes
The Dark Web
Cybercriminals: Motivations and subcultures
Legal and ethical issues
Court admissibility
Forensics and privacy rights
Ethical issues in digital forensics
IoT and Big Data
Statistical analysis of data generated by IoT devices
Machine learning and IoT data
Research Paper Topics

10. Legal and ethical issues
Computer Forensics
File Systems Forensics
Network Forensics
Mobile devices Forensics
(Cyber)crimes
The Dark Web
Cybercriminals: Motivations and subcultures
Legal and ethical issues
Court admissibility
Forensics and privacy rights
Ethical issues in digital forensics
Forensics Science
Evidence preservation
Writing forensics reports
Anti forensics
Research paper: 3000 words + Presentation
References: At least three academic articles published in the last 5 years
Reference: At least one theoretical chapter from a book or theoretical article explaining the concept you are investigating
Research Paper Topics

11. Legal and ethical issues
Computer Forensics
File Systems Forensics
Network Forensics
Mobile devices Forensics
(Cyber)crimes
The Dark Web
Cybercriminals: Motivations and subcultures
Legal and ethical issues
Court admissibility
Forensics and privacy rights
Ethical issues in digital forensics
Forensics Science
Evidence preservation
Writing forensics reports
Anti forensics
Choice of topic:
Specific
Relevant
Achievable within four/five weeks
Topic 1: The dark web
Topic 2: The selling/buying/sharing of illegal material on the Dark Web
Topic 3: The uses of Dark Web by law enforcement to gather digital evidence
Topic 4: Anti forensics
Topic 5: Methods of wiping data
Which topics are specific and which topics are NOT specific ?
Research Paper Topics

12. Legal and ethical issues
Computer Forensics
File Systems Forensics
Network Forensics
Mobile devices Forensics
(Cyber)crimes
The Dark Web
Cybercriminals: Motivations and subcultures
Legal and ethical issues
Court admissibility
Forensics and privacy rights
Ethical issues in digital forensics
Forensics Science
Evidence preservation
Writing forensics reports
Anti forensics
Choice of topic:
Specific
Relevant
Achievable within four/five weeks
Write down 2 research topics that are NOT specific and one research topic that is specific
Save your three topics to a file
your list to LATER
Research Paper Topics

13. Legal and ethical issues
Computer Forensics
File Systems Forensics
Network Forensics
Mobile devices Forensics
(Cyber)crimes
The Dark Web
Cybercriminals: Motivations and subcultures
Legal and ethical issues
Court admissibility
Forensics and privacy rights
Ethical issues in digital forensics
Forensics Science
Evidence preservation
Writing forensics reports
Anti forensics
Choice of topic:
Academic journals and Books

14. Legal and ethical issues
Computer Forensics
File Systems Forensics
Network Forensics
Mobile devices Forensics
(Cyber)crimes
The Dark Web
Cybercriminals: Motivations and subcultures
Legal and ethical issues
Court admissibility
Forensics and privacy rights
Ethical issues in digital forensics
Forensics Science
Evidence preservation
Writing forensics reports
Anti forensics
“Timelining is a powerful tool for forensic analysis and contextual awareness. Many forensic tools can automatically structure files and data based on the time they were accessed, last changed, or deleted” (Arnes, 2018)
Research Paper Topics

15. Legal and ethical issues
Conceptual Map
Computer Forensics
File Systems Forensics
Network Forensics
Mobile devices Forensics
(Cyber)crimes
The Dark Web
Cybercriminals: Motivations and subcultures
Legal and ethical issues
Court admissibility
Forensics and privacy rights
Ethical issues in digital forensics
Forensics Science
Evidence preservation
Writing forensics reports
Anti forensics
Create a conceptual map that summarizes the concepts related to file system forensics (Check the book, slides from class 8 and any other resources)
Your map should include the following concepts: File carving, physical extraction, logical extraction, slack, partition table, file signature, file header, file mounting, RAM slack, drive slack, order of volatility
Add to document, to
Research Paper Topics

16. Purpose of examination Findings Conclusions
Writing Reports
Case data
Purpose of examination
Findings
Conclusions

17. Writing Reports
“Case data, or similar in a criminal setting is simply information that describes the investigation that the examination is part of. Case data would include the name of the person that ordered the examination, some identifier information that identifies the evidence pieces that are subject to examination. Key point here is to maintain chain of custody or similar as well as being able to distinguish the examination from other examinations”

18. Writing Reports Examples of purpose of examination:
“The purpose of this examination was to identify if documents stolen during the break-in at samplestreet 41 was present on the computer. The suspect stated, in an interrogation, that the computer was hacked. Thus, the examination also included looking for evidence of remote control software, malicious software and evidence of intrusion”
“The aim of the examination was to extract all pictures from the device”

19. Investigation of whether a suspect has used their laptop to visit a website where illegal services are advertised. (1) What is the case data, (2) Description of purpose of examination, (3) Findings and Conclusions.

20. C:\Windows\System32 \winevt\Logs\Security.evtx
Checking when a user logged on their device