Adapting Metadata as Supporting Evidence within Digital Forensic Investigations: A Proposed Model
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Abstract
In the globalized world that we are witnessing today, technology is part of the daily activities of many people, specifically forensic investigators who have come to obtain information that integrates with the investigation process through the Internet through many tools that integrate in different and varied forms to make technology applicable in the judicial system, and the digital forensic investigation process becomes more effective.
The current study gains its importance from the metadata that contributes to the digital forensic investigation, and achieves the integrative link between informational evidence, investigators, and the digital forensic investigation process, and how to deal with informational evidence to avoid its misuse to obstruct criminal investigations and to reveal the role of the EXIF Viewer Pro program in the process of extracting information through metadata. In a way that achieves promising justice. The study aims to clarify the importance of metadata in digital criminal investigation, and accordingly relied on the descriptive analytical approach, and used the EXIF Viewer Pro program to extract metadata from digital images in the application. The study was also able to develop recommendations for what should be taken into consideration, whether from researchers when designing similar solutions, or from officials when planning to use them, so that they are very effective.
The most important findings of the study: Metadata detection software such as: EXIF Viewer Pro contributes to providing strong analysis and evidence that gives certainty and reliability in passing judgments on criminal cases, in addition to the fact that modern software for metadata extraction answers the questions (who, when, how) For forensic investigators, modern software dispense to detect metadata from the geolocation element; Due to its misuse, it cannot accurately answer the question (where) of the criminal investigator.
Keywords
Forensic Sciences, metadata, EXIF, metadata extraction software, EXIF Viewer Pro, Exchangeable image file format, digital images, digital forensics
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