Research

The DFC performs university research on tools and techniques to enhance the field of digital forensics. Some current projects in progress include:

Human/Pornography Image Detection. The DFC has a National Institute of Justice grant to develop software to detect indications of humans, and specifically those with high concentrations of flesh tones, in digital images. This will greatly facilitate the searching of digital media (like a seized hard drive) for likely images of humans and likely pornography.
Steganography Detection. The DFC has a National Institute of Justice grant to develop techniques to detect and break steganography, and tie these techniques to common digital forensics tools.
Write Blocking. The DFC has developed software write blocking technques and published reports evaluating write blocking:
- Evaluating Software Write Blocker Correctness
- Evaluating Write Blocker Speeds
Password Cracking Cluster. The DFC has a large "cluster" of powerful servers specifically networked to collaborate on large computing jobs. DFC staff is programming the cluster to assist in password cracking for forensic investigations.
Search Term Expressions. The DFC is developing software to automate the generation and archiving of search terms used by investigators in digital forensics investigations.

For more information, academic and technical papers and presentations, please contact the DFC.