Can forensic processes thwart the use of portable programmable devices?

Hosted by the Cyber Security & Networking Research Group, Anglia Ruskin University, OWASP (Open Web Application Security Project) Cambridge Chapter, & BCS Cybercrime Forensics SG

Background

The BCS – Chartered Institute for IT - Cybercrime Forensics Special Interest Group (SG) promotes Cybercrime Forensics and the use of Cybercrime Forensics; of relevance to computing professionals, lawyers, law enforcement officers, academics and those interested in the use of Cybercrime Forensics and the need to address cybercrime for the benefit of those groups and of the wider public.

OWASP (Open Web Application Security Project is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit worldwide charitable organization focused on improving the security of application software. Their mission is to make application security visible, so that people and organizations can make informed decisions about true application security risks.

The Cyber Security and Networking (CSN) Research Group at Anglia Ruskin University has close working strategic relationships with industry, professional bodies, law enforcement, government agencies and academia in the delivery of operationally focused applied information and application security research. We have strong international links with professional organisations such as OWASP, BCS, ISC2, IISP & the UK Cyber Security Forum amongst others. The primary aims of CSNRG are to help the UK and partner nations to tackle cybercrime, be more resilient to cyber attacks and educate its users for a more secure cyberspace and operational business environment. These will be achieved through the investigation of threats posed to information systems and understanding the impact of attacks and creation of cyber-based warning systems which gathering threat intelligence, automate threat detection, alert users and neutralising attacks. For network security we are researching securing the next generation of software defined infrastructures from the application API and control/data plane attacks. Other key work includes Computer forensic analysis, digital evidence crime scenes and evidence visualisation as well as Cyber educational approaches such as developing Capture the Flag (CTF) resources and application security programs.

Abstract : “How reliable are current forensic processes in combatting the illegal use of portable programmable devices?
The teaching of digital forensics must be restricted, by its very nature, as we can’t teach students everything. There is a new threat to best practice that we have encountered in our research, which could lead to a miscarriage of justice, where an innocent person is falsely accused of a crime. In our research, we have found that hardware devices, such as the Rubber Ducky, Bash Bunny and the O.MG cable can be used to commit or facilitate a crime. These devices leave very little forensics evidence on the target device, other than showing that a file was accessed or that an illegal picture was downloaded and viewed.
The user of the victim machine could easily be wrongly accused of a crime that they know nothing about, and they will not easily be able to prove their innocence. Forensics investigators might look no further than the access times of the file that was altered or the picture that was downloaded and viewed and would not even look for clues that might point to a hardware attack. This paper highlights the difficulties of proving that a hardware attack even took place and shows the lack of awareness amongst digital forensics investigators to this possibility.
Provisional Agenda
17:15 - Webinar waiting lobby opens
17:30 - Start of Presentation
18:20 – Questions & Answers
18:30 – Estimated Finish