Positive Dental Identification Using Tooth Anatomy and Digital Superimposition

Dental identification of unknown human remains continues to be a relevant and reliable adjunct to forensic investigations. The advent of genomic and mitochondrial DNA procedures has not displaced the practical use of dental and related osseous structures remaining after destructive incidents that can render human remains unrecognizable, severely burned, and fragmented. The ability to conclusively identify victims of accident and homicide is based on the availability of antemortem records containing substantial and unambiguous proof of dental and related osseous characteristics. This case report documents the use of digital comparative analysis of antemortem dental models and postmortem dentition, to determine a dental identification. Images of dental models were digitally analyzed using Adobe Photoshop^TM software. Individual tooth anatomy was compared between the antemortem and postmortem images. Digital superimposition techniques were also used for the comparison. With the absence of antemortem radiographs, this method proved useful to reach a positive identification in this case.     

Forensic Investigation of Cooperative Storage Cloud Service: Symform as a Case Study

Researchers envisioned Storage as a Service (StaaS) as an effective solution to the distributed management of digital data. Cooperative storage cloud forensic is relatively new and is an under‐explored area of research. Using Symform as a case study, we seek to determine the data remnants from the use of cooperative cloud storage services. In particular, we consider both mobile devices and personal computers running various popular operating systems, namely Windows 8.1, Mac OS X Mavericks 10.9.5, Ubuntu 14.04.1 LTS, iOS 7.1.2, and Android KitKat 4.4.4. Potential artefacts recovered during the research include data relating to the installation and uninstallation of the cloud applications, log‐in to and log‐out from Symform account using the client application, file synchronization as well as their time stamp information. This research contributes to an in‐depth understanding of the types of terrestrial artifacts that are likely to remain after the use of cooperative storage cloud on client devices.     

Forensic Taxonomy of Android Social Apps

An Android social app taxonomy incorporating artifacts that are of forensic interest will enable users and forensic investigators to identify the personally identifiable information (PII) stored by the apps. In this study, 30 popular Android social apps were examined. Artifacts of forensic interest (e.g., contacts lists, chronology of messages, and timestamp of an added contact) were recovered. In addition, images were located, and Facebook token strings used to tie account identities and gain access to information entered into Facebook by a user were identified. Based on the findings, a two‐dimensional taxonomy of the forensic artifacts of the social apps is proposed. A comparative summary of existing forensic taxonomies of different categories of Android apps, designed to facilitate timely collection and analysis of evidentiary materials from Android devices, is presented.     

Visualizing Digital Forensic Datasets: A Proof of Concept

Digital forensic visualization is an understudied area despite its potential to achieve significant improvements in the efficiency of an investigation, criminal or civil. In this study, a three‐stage forensic data storage and visualization life cycle is presented. The first stage is the decoding of data, which involves preparing both structured and unstructured data for storage. In the storage stage, data are stored within our proposed database schema designed for ensuring data integrity and speed of storage and retrieval. The final stage is the visualization of stored data in a manner that facilitates user interaction. These functionalities are implemented in a proof of concept to demonstrate the utility of the proposed life cycle. The proof of concept demonstrates the utility of the proposed approach for the storage and visualization of digital forensic data.     

Sexual violence perpetrated against women in India: the role of forensic evidence

ABSTRACT

In response to the upsurge in acts of sexual violence against women in India, Parliament passed the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act of 2013, amending existing statutes and rules of evidence relating to crimes of sexual violence and the practices of forensic professionals in the country. While a step in the right direction, this law paid little attention to forensic evidence in sexual violence cases, which can provide a more objective, scientific account of events, aid in the reconstruction of crimes, and help strengthen cases against perpetrators. The objectives of this article are twofold: to raise awareness for the need for a more prominent role of forensic evidence in sexual violence cases and to recommend ways to establish uniform and comprehensive policies and procedures on the collection and preservation of forensic evidence in order to ensure that cases of sexual violence against women are heard in Indian courts.     

Theorising African communications: The bad news signalled by broadcast digital migration policy

Abstract

Broadcasting digital migration (BDM) in Africa reflects deadlines agreed by the continent at the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). The case suggests a negative answer to the question about a uniquely African contribution to communication theory. This is because there is a disjuncture between the ideology of BDM, as evolved in developed countries and copied in African countries, and a critical theorisation of African communications which could surface a different vantage point. The embedded theory that informs African accord on BDM assumes unquestioningly that this particular development in advanced economies has to be emulated in Africa. As a result, primary African communications characteristics are ignored, including the case for investing in radio or mobile Internet rather than BDM. Also missed is the value of democratic and interactive communications, meaning that the BDM set top boxes (STBs) are seen merely as decoders of one-way content flows. In sum, the experience of BDM as a particular intersection of communications technology and social conditions reflects an inadequate African communication theorisation.     

Diary of an astronaut: examination of the remains of the late Israeli astronaut Colonel Ilan Ramon's Crew Notebook recovered after the loss of NASA's space shuttle Columbia

Two months after the fatal re-entering into the Earth's atmosphere of Columbia flight STS-107, the remains of Israeli astronaut Colonel Ilan Ramon's Crew Notebook were found strewn in a field in San Augustine County, TX. The random pile of papers was found to have survived the calamity of the Shuttle's disintegration remarkably well. Most of the papers recovered were torn and/or washed out to varying degrees but only mildly charred around the edges. The sheets of paper could be categorized into four groups: Group I: eight sides of paper written while in space in black ink and in pencil--Ramon's personal diary; the writing on these eight sides of paper survived well and is only missing where the pages were torn. Small fragments found in the field were physically matched to holes in the pages thus locating their original positions in the text. Group II: six sides of technical preparation notes written by Ramon before the mission. The writing on these pages was washed out entirely, but much of it was visualized using infrared luminescence. Group III: eight sides of personal notes prepared by Ramon before the mission written in blue ink. The writing on these pages was barely visible to the naked eye and not visualized by infrared luminescence, but was made largely legible by digital enhancement imaging. Group IV: a few sides of printed technical information. These pages were mostly intact and were not examined at length as they contained standard printed material. After completion of examinations at the Questioned Document Laboratory of the Israel Police, the diary was transferred to the Paper Conservation Department of the Israel Museum for preservation and strengthening treatments.     

Comparison of the Performance of Two Methods for Height Estimation

Abstract: In the case study, two methods of performing body height measurements in images are compared based on projective geometry and 3D modeling of the crime scene. Accuracy and stability of height estimations are tested using reconstruction images of test persons of known height. Given unchanged camera settings, predictions of both methods are accurate. However, as the camera had been moved in the case, new vanishing points and camera matches had to be created for the reconstruction images. 3D modeling still yielded accurate and stable estimations. Projective geometry produced incorrect predictions for test persons and unstable intervals for questioned persons. The latter is probably caused by the straight lines in the field of view being hard to discern. With the quality of material presented, which is representative for our case practice, using vanishing points may thus yield unstable results. The results underline the importance of performing validation experiments in casework.     

Advanced Framework for Digital Forensic Technologies and Procedures*

Abstract: Recent trends in global networks are leading toward service‐oriented architectures and sensor networks. On one hand of the spectrum, this means deployment of services from numerous providers to form new service composites, and on the other hand this means emergence of Internet of things. Both these kinds belong to a plethora of realms and can be deployed in many ways, which will pose serious problems in cases of abuse. Consequently, both trends increase the need for new approaches to digital forensics that would furnish admissible evidence for litigation. Because technology alone is clearly not sufficient, it has to be adequately supported by appropriate investigative procedures, which have yet become a subject of an international consensus. This paper therefore provides appropriate a holistic framework to foster an internationally agreed upon approach in digital forensics along with necessary improvements. It is based on a top‐down approach, starting with legal, continuing with organizational, and ending with technical issues. More precisely, the paper presents a new architectural technological solution that addresses the core forensic principles at its roots. It deploys so‐called leveled message authentication codes and digital signatures to provide data integrity in a way that significantly eases forensic investigations into attacked systems in their operational state. Further, using a top‐down approach a conceptual framework for forensics readiness is given, which provides levels of abstraction and procedural guides embellished with a process model that allow investigators perform routine investigations, without becoming overwhelmed by low‐level details. As low‐level details should not be left out, the framework is further evaluated to include these details to allow organizations to configure their systems for proactive collection and preservation of potential digital evidence in a structured manner. The main reason behind this approach is to stimulate efforts on an internationally agreed “template legislation,” similarly to model law in the area of electronic commerce, which would enable harmonized national implementations in the area of digital forensics.     

Measurement Uncertainty When Estimating the Velocity of an Allegedly Speeding Vehicle from Images

Abstract: Sometimes the question arises whether it is possible to estimate the velocity of a speeding car recorded by closed circuit television cameras. By estimating the travelled distance of the car between two images and the time elapsed, estimation of the velocity is rather straightforward. However, to quantify the corresponding measurement uncertainty, the data analysis becomes more involved. The article describes two approaches as to how to derive the measurement uncertainty. In the first method, distance and timing are estimated separately, and the two uncertainties are combined to derive the measurement uncertainty for the velocity. For this, a frequentist and a Bayesian approach are described. In the second method, the measurement uncertainty for the speed is derived directly using validation recordings of a car driving by at known speed. The choice which method to use depends mainly on the length of the path that the car has travelled.