Editor’s Word

Dear readers,

In this issue, you can read about digital forensics tools. Forensic tools are needed in today’s digital environment. By using digital forensic tools, you can investigate many digital devices. These tools allow you to complete a comprehensive investigation. You can decrypt encrypted files, extract valuable data, preserve data integrity, and much more. Tools for digital forensics are useful for all kinds of law enforcement and incident response functions, as well as cybersecurity and maintenance.
In this issue, you read the article written by Amber Schroader. She's comparing two tools. It is a useful method in the case of any lab, and the two-tool method has real value when reviewing the comparisons. Kate Libby will present, in her article, an overview of some of the best tools in the field. Adam Karim presents FTK Imager, also known as Forensic Toolkit Imager.
Jeff Minakata tell you about AI usage. You can find more information in the Table of Contents. There are many interesting articles and interviews in this issue, so I recommend reading them all.
I want to thank everyone who contributed to this issue and helped me create the magazine. A big thank you to all our readers!
Enjoy reading,
Ewa

Table of Contents

ADVANCED DIGITAL FORENSICS WITH FTK IMAGER
by ADAM KARIM

FTK Imager is a free, standalone application that provides forensic professionals, law enforcement agencies, and computer forensic examiners with the ability to create forensic images of digital storage media, such as hard drives, USB drives, memory cards, and other storage devices.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND IMAGE MANIPULATION
by JEFF MINAKATA

During the last couple of years, we have seen an explosive growth in both AI technology development and its mainstream use, both good and bad. Given the rise of bad actors leveraging AI to generate fake images to influence people’s perceptions we will be looking at one tool (Hive AI Detector) to potentially combat this growing issue and make identifying these AI generated images quickly and easily.

BEST DIGITAL FORENSIC TOOLS
by KATE LIBBY

Digital forensic investigators rely on a variety of tools that are crucial in various aspects of digital forensics like data recovery, analysis, and reporting. This article is an overview of some of the best tools in the field, there are links in the resources that will either feature more information about the tools or the project page itself.  Please visit the resources to gain a more in-depth understanding of these tools.

NAVIGATING THE SKIES OF JUSTICE: DIGITAL FORENSIC TOOLS FOR WEAPONIZED DRONE INCIDENTS
by RHONDA JOHNSON

As technology advances, so do the threats that law enforcement agencies face. The emergence of weaponized drones poses a unique challenge, demanding innovative approaches to investigation and evidence collection. In this context, digital forensic tools play a pivotal role in aiding law enforcement agencies to unravel the complexities of weaponized drone incidents. This article delves into the significance of digital forensic tools tailored for such incidents, providing detailed insights and a comprehensive summary in the form of a table.

USING TWO TOOLS FOR SMARTPHONE FORENSICS ACQUISITIONS
by AMBER SCHROADER

No greater area in digital forensics changes more frequently than smartphones. The many differences between manufacturers, regions, and devices can cause a wide range of problems when looking at the smartphone from an acquisition perspective. Keeping this in mind, the landscape of available tools has also changed dramatically over the past few years. With the development of more and more private tools vs open-source tools, there are a variety of options to select from. The following will review the different acquisition options between an open-source solution vs a private solution, and how the use of both tools can benefit an organization.

DFIR LABS IN THE CLOUD: THE FUTURE OF DIGITAL FORENSICS
by BELKASOFT

In this article, we will cover the ins and outs of adopting cloud solutions in digital forensics and explore how DFIR tools can accommodate this change. As an example, we will look into Belkasoft digital forensics software, known for its innovative solutions, and explore the features that enable it to embrace the cloud approach.

CELLEBRITE PHYSICAL ANALYZER ULTRA
by CHRISTOPHER COLLINS

With technology evolving and new apps released daily, crime is ever-changing on the digital front. As a result, Cellibrate released an ultimate solution; PA Ultra (PAU). PAU allows the examiner to use a full dashboard of data discovery, with commonly sought evidence on devices. The PAU dashboard gives the user a breakdown of apps and device locations, breaking the selection down to a summary of how often other apps are used and how often locations are visited. 

INTERVIEW WITH DAUDA SULE
by EFORENSICS TEAM

I am Dauda Sule, currently an academic at the Air Force Institute of Technology, Kaduna, Nigeria.

INTERVIEW WITH KUNAL DUTT 

by EFORENSICS TEAM

My name is Kunal Dutt. I live in India. I completed my Bachelor of Engineering in computer science and later on, I opted for a master's of engineering with a specialisation in cybersecurity with all due respect to my interest and passion.