A comparison of open source and proprietary digital forensic software
- Authors: Sonnekus, Michael Hendrik
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Computer crimes , Computer crimes -- Investigation , Electronic evidence , Open source software
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:4717 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017939
- Description: Scrutiny of the capabilities and accuracy of computer forensic tools is increasing as the number of incidents relying on digital evidence and the weight of that evidence increase. This thesis describes the capabilities of the leading proprietary and open source digital forensic tools. The capabilities of the tools were tested separately on digital media that had been formatted using Windows and Linux. Experiments were carried out with the intention of establishing whether the capabilities of open source computer forensics are similar to those of proprietary computer forensic tools, and whether these tools could complement one another. The tools were tested with regards to their capabilities to make and analyse digital forensic images in a forensically sound manner. The tests were carried out on each media type after deleting data from the media, and then repeated after formatting the media. The results of the experiments performed demonstrate that both proprietary and open source computer forensic tools have superior capabilities in different scenarios, and that the toolsets can be used to validate and complement one another. The implication of these findings is that investigators have an affordable means of validating their findings and are able to more effectively investigate digital media.
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- Authors: Sonnekus, Michael Hendrik
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Computer crimes , Computer crimes -- Investigation , Electronic evidence , Open source software
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:4717 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017939
- Description: Scrutiny of the capabilities and accuracy of computer forensic tools is increasing as the number of incidents relying on digital evidence and the weight of that evidence increase. This thesis describes the capabilities of the leading proprietary and open source digital forensic tools. The capabilities of the tools were tested separately on digital media that had been formatted using Windows and Linux. Experiments were carried out with the intention of establishing whether the capabilities of open source computer forensics are similar to those of proprietary computer forensic tools, and whether these tools could complement one another. The tools were tested with regards to their capabilities to make and analyse digital forensic images in a forensically sound manner. The tests were carried out on each media type after deleting data from the media, and then repeated after formatting the media. The results of the experiments performed demonstrate that both proprietary and open source computer forensic tools have superior capabilities in different scenarios, and that the toolsets can be used to validate and complement one another. The implication of these findings is that investigators have an affordable means of validating their findings and are able to more effectively investigate digital media.
- Full Text:
An exploration into the use of webinjects by financial malware
- Authors: Forrester, Jock Ingram
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Malware (Computer software) -- Analysis , Internet fraud , Computer crimes , Computer security , Electronic commerce
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:4697 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1012079 , Malware (Computer software) -- Analysis , Internet fraud , Computer crimes , Computer security , Electronic commerce
- Description: As the number of computing devices connected to the Internet increases and the Internet itself becomes more pervasive, so does the opportunity for criminals to use these devices in cybercrimes. Supporting the increase in cybercrime is the growth and maturity of the digital underground economy with strong links to its more visible and physical counterpart. The digital underground economy provides software and related services to equip the entrepreneurial cybercriminal with the appropriate skills and required tools. Financial malware, particularly the capability for injection of code into web browsers, has become one of the more profitable cybercrime tool sets due to its versatility and adaptability when targeting clients of institutions with an online presence, both in and outside of the financial industry. There are numerous families of financial malware available for use, with perhaps the most prevalent being Zeus and SpyEye. Criminals create (or purchase) and grow botnets of computing devices infected with financial malware that has been configured to attack clients of certain websites. In the research data set there are 483 configuration files containing approximately 40 000 webinjects that were captured from various financial malware botnets between October 2010 and June 2012. They were processed and analysed to determine the methods used by criminals to defraud either the user of the computing device, or the institution of which the user is a client. The configuration files contain the injection code that is executed in the web browser to create a surrogate interface, which is then used by the criminal to interact with the user and institution in order to commit fraud. Demographics on the captured data set are presented and case studies are documented based on the various methods used to defraud and bypass financial security controls across multiple industries. The case studies cover techniques used in social engineering, bypassing security controls and automated transfers.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Forrester, Jock Ingram
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Malware (Computer software) -- Analysis , Internet fraud , Computer crimes , Computer security , Electronic commerce
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:4697 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1012079 , Malware (Computer software) -- Analysis , Internet fraud , Computer crimes , Computer security , Electronic commerce
- Description: As the number of computing devices connected to the Internet increases and the Internet itself becomes more pervasive, so does the opportunity for criminals to use these devices in cybercrimes. Supporting the increase in cybercrime is the growth and maturity of the digital underground economy with strong links to its more visible and physical counterpart. The digital underground economy provides software and related services to equip the entrepreneurial cybercriminal with the appropriate skills and required tools. Financial malware, particularly the capability for injection of code into web browsers, has become one of the more profitable cybercrime tool sets due to its versatility and adaptability when targeting clients of institutions with an online presence, both in and outside of the financial industry. There are numerous families of financial malware available for use, with perhaps the most prevalent being Zeus and SpyEye. Criminals create (or purchase) and grow botnets of computing devices infected with financial malware that has been configured to attack clients of certain websites. In the research data set there are 483 configuration files containing approximately 40 000 webinjects that were captured from various financial malware botnets between October 2010 and June 2012. They were processed and analysed to determine the methods used by criminals to defraud either the user of the computing device, or the institution of which the user is a client. The configuration files contain the injection code that is executed in the web browser to create a surrogate interface, which is then used by the criminal to interact with the user and institution in order to commit fraud. Demographics on the captured data set are presented and case studies are documented based on the various methods used to defraud and bypass financial security controls across multiple industries. The case studies cover techniques used in social engineering, bypassing security controls and automated transfers.
- Full Text:
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