ASU Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This collection includes most of the ASU Theses and Dissertations from 2011 to present. ASU Theses and Dissertations are available in downloadable PDF format; however, a small percentage of items are under embargo. Information about the dissertations/theses includes degree information, committee members, an abstract, supporting data or media.
In addition to the electronic theses found in the ASU Digital Repository, ASU Theses and Dissertations can be found in the ASU Library Catalog.
Dissertations and Theses granted by Arizona State University are archived and made available through a joint effort of the ASU Graduate College and the ASU Libraries. For more information or questions about this collection contact or visit the Digital Repository ETD Library Guide or contact the ASU Graduate College at gradformat@asu.edu.
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- All Subjects: Chrome OS
- All Subjects: Electronic evidence
- Creators: Doupe, Adam
Description
Due to the shortcomings of modern Mobile Device Management solutions, businesses
have begun to incorporate forensics to analyze their mobile devices and respond
to any incidents of malicious activity in order to protect their sensitive data. Current
forensic tools, however, can only look a static image of the device being examined,
making it difficult for a forensic analyst to produce conclusive results regarding the
integrity of any sensitive data on the device. This research thesis expands on the
use of forensics to secure data by implementing an agent on a mobile device that can
continually collect information regarding the state of the device. This information is
then sent to a separate server in the form of log files to be analyzed using a specialized
tool. The analysis tool is able to look at the data collected from the device over time
and perform specific calculations, according to the user's specifications, highlighting
any correlations or anomalies among the data which might be considered suspicious
to a forensic analyst. The contribution of this paper is both an in-depth explanation
on the implementation of an iOS application to be used to improve the mobile forensics
process as well as a proof-of-concept experiment showing how evidence collected
over time can be used to improve the accuracy of a forensic analysis.
have begun to incorporate forensics to analyze their mobile devices and respond
to any incidents of malicious activity in order to protect their sensitive data. Current
forensic tools, however, can only look a static image of the device being examined,
making it difficult for a forensic analyst to produce conclusive results regarding the
integrity of any sensitive data on the device. This research thesis expands on the
use of forensics to secure data by implementing an agent on a mobile device that can
continually collect information regarding the state of the device. This information is
then sent to a separate server in the form of log files to be analyzed using a specialized
tool. The analysis tool is able to look at the data collected from the device over time
and perform specific calculations, according to the user's specifications, highlighting
any correlations or anomalies among the data which might be considered suspicious
to a forensic analyst. The contribution of this paper is both an in-depth explanation
on the implementation of an iOS application to be used to improve the mobile forensics
process as well as a proof-of-concept experiment showing how evidence collected
over time can be used to improve the accuracy of a forensic analysis.
ContributorsWhitaker, Jeremy (Author) / Ahn, Gail-Joon (Thesis advisor) / Doupe, Adam (Committee member) / Yau, Stephen (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
The Web is one of the most exciting and dynamic areas of development in today’s technology. However, with such activity, innovation, and ubiquity have come a set of new challenges for digital forensic examiners, making their jobs even more difficult. For examiners to become as effective with evidence from the Web as they currently are with more traditional evidence, they need (1) methods that guide them to know how to approach this new type of evidence and (2) tools that accommodate web environments’ unique characteristics.
In this dissertation, I present my research to alleviate the difficulties forensic examiners currently face with respect to evidence originating from web environments. First, I introduce a framework for web environment forensics, which elaborates on and addresses the key challenges examiners face and outlines a method for how to approach web-based evidence. Next, I describe my work to identify extensions installed on encrypted web thin clients using only a sound understanding of these systems’ inner workings and the metadata of the encrypted files. Finally, I discuss my approach to reconstructing the timeline of events on encrypted web thin clients by using service provider APIs as a proxy for directly analyzing the device. In each of these research areas, I also introduce structured formats that I customized to accommodate the unique features of the evidence sources while also facilitating tool interoperability and information sharing.
In this dissertation, I present my research to alleviate the difficulties forensic examiners currently face with respect to evidence originating from web environments. First, I introduce a framework for web environment forensics, which elaborates on and addresses the key challenges examiners face and outlines a method for how to approach web-based evidence. Next, I describe my work to identify extensions installed on encrypted web thin clients using only a sound understanding of these systems’ inner workings and the metadata of the encrypted files. Finally, I discuss my approach to reconstructing the timeline of events on encrypted web thin clients by using service provider APIs as a proxy for directly analyzing the device. In each of these research areas, I also introduce structured formats that I customized to accommodate the unique features of the evidence sources while also facilitating tool interoperability and information sharing.
ContributorsMabey, Michael Kent (Author) / Ahn, Gail-Joon (Thesis advisor) / Doupe, Adam (Thesis advisor) / Yau, Stephen S. (Committee member) / Lee, Joohyung (Committee member) / Zhao, Ziming (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017