University Digital Forensics Module: Personal Reflection and Learning

This assignment is a reflective report on a digital forensics module, focusing on the topic of anti-forensics. The student explores the concept of anti-forensics, which involves techniques used to hinder digital investigations by hiding or destroying data. The report details the student's learning experience, including the tools and techniques used by criminals to avoid detection, disrupt information gathering, and prolong investigations. The student reflects on their understanding of data hiding methods like encryption and steganography and how these techniques impact digital forensics investigations. The report emphasizes the importance of IT professionals in handling such cases and highlights the need for investigators to be aware of anti-forensic measures. The report also references the practical sessions attended during the module, specifically the anti-forensics session. The student also discusses the goals of anti-forensics which includes avoiding detection, disrupting the collection of information, increasing the time an examiner spends on a case, and mounting an attack against the examiner.

Running head: DIGITAL FORENSICS
DIGITAL FORENSICS
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1DIGITAL FORENSICS
Description
Anti forensics is when the various programmers develop various tools to make it hard
for the investigators to obtain information during an investigation (Cameron 2018). Anti
forensics is any kind of technique that is designed to damage an investigation. A criminal can
hide any information in various ways. I have learned the criminals that do not want the
investigators to obtain the information from the various devices. This is known as anti-
forensics. I have studied that it becomes tough for the investigators to retrieve that
information as the criminals destroy them (Conlan, Baggili, and Breitinger 2016).
Critical Evaluation on Method
Earlier, I have studied that there are various tools to study digital forensics, but now I
have learned that there are tools that are available for anti-forensics. It includes a timestamp,
slacker, and many more. I have also learned that there are several techniques to hide the
details. It includes encryption, steganography, tunneling, spoofing, and many more (Gül and
Kugu 2017).
I have studied that there are various goals behind committing anti-forensics. It includes
the following:
 Avoid detection that some event has occurred
 Disruption of information collection
 Maximizing the time that an examiner requires to solve a case
 Mounting an attack against the examiner of forensics
From the goals, it can be understood that anti-forensics can harm the investigation of a
case, and the examiner will need extra time to solve the case. I have also learned and studied
the various methods of anti-forensics that can be used. These methods include destroying the

2DIGITAL FORENSICS
data, hiding the data in a secured place so that it becomes impossible for the examiners to
find it, destroying the source of information so that the examiner did not find it and
counterfeiting the information or the source of information (Hausknecht and Gruičić 2017).
Conclusion Based on Personal Experience
From here, I concluded that anti-forensics are the activities of the criminals that do
not want to disclose the information to the investigator so that they can investigate the case. I
have learned that criminals employ various tools and techniques to hide or destroy the source
of data to make it unavailable to the investigators. The criminals utilize various methods that
I have learned while doing this module are hiding, destroying, and many other techniques to
destroy or make the data unavailable for the investigators to continue the investigation (Kang
et al 2016). I have seen in various cases that the criminals have used steganography and
encryption to encrypt the data. Decrypting the data and information requires digital
signatures, and if the investigator cannot do, the data will be deleted, and the information will
be lost. Therefore, I think that it can be recommended to the investigators to handle the case
in a sensitive way when they come across such cases, and they should always consult an IT
professional when they come across such cases.

3DIGITAL FORENSICS
References
Cameron, L., 2018. Future of digital forensics faces six security challenges in fighting
borderless cybercrime and dark web tools.
Conlan, K., Baggili, I. and Breitinger, F., 2016. Anti-forensics: Furthering digital forensic
science through a new extended, granular taxonomy. Digital investigation, 18, pp.S66-S75.
Gül, M. and Kugu, E., 2017, September. A survey on anti-forensics techniques. In 2017
International Artificial Intelligence and Data Processing Symposium (IDAP) (pp. 1-6). IEEE.
Hausknecht, K. and Gruičić, S., 2017, May. Anti-computer forensics. In 2017 40th
International Convention on Information and Communication Technology, Electronics and
Microelectronics (MIPRO) (pp. 1233-1240). IEEE.
Kang, X., Liu, J., Liu, H. and Wang, Z.J., 2016. Forensics and counter anti-forensics of video
inter-frame forgery. Multimedia Tools and Applications, 75(21), pp.13833-13853.