In an era where digital evidence plays a pivotal role in criminal investigations, the emergence of anti-forensic techniques poses a significant challenge to the integrity and availability of critical digital evidence. Anti-forensic techniques are employed to obstruct and mislead digital investigations, or entirely erase digital evidence. This thesis will focus on a comprehensive examination of prevalent anti-forensic techniques, aiming to develop and propose methodologies for their detection and mitigation, thereby aiding the digital forensic community in securing and accurately analyzing digital evidence.
This project focuses on all or some of the following tasks:
- To extensively investigate common and emerging anti-forensic techniques.
- To devise and validate methodologies for detecting and mitigating the impact of anti-forensic techniques.
- Designing and formulating detection methodologies to identify the use of anti-forensic techniques.
- Detailed analysis and categorization of prevalent anti-forensic techniques.
- Evaluation of the effectiveness of these techniques in thwarting digital investigations.
- Incorporating machine learning or AI (if applicable) to enhance detection capabilities.