talk: Computer-Assisted Reasoning In Digital Forensics

UMBC Center for Information Security and Assurance

Computer-Assisted Reasoning In Digital Forensics

Dr. Eoghan Casey

Noon-1:00 Friday, 20 September 2013

Cyber Defense Lab, room 228 ITE, UMBC

The primary challenge in digital forensics today is uncovering not the right answer, but the right question. As in any scientific discipline, the formation of viable hypotheses that ultimately uncover meaning in available evidence is a central problem in digital forensics. Such hypothesis formation, based on intuition and experience, involves an underlying mental process that can be substantially aided by computers. This seminar delves into the cognitive science of investigative reasoning, and how research in artificial intelligence can help humans find the right questions in large quantities of data. The implications of this work for digital identity and privacy, as well as its potential uses in other areas, such as medical diagnosis and virtual learning environments, are also discussed.

Eoghan Casey is an internationally recognized expert in digital forensics and data breach investigations. For over a decade, he has dedicated himself to advancing the field of digital forensics. He wrote the foundational book Digital Evidence and Computer Crime, now in its third edition, and he created advanced smartphone forensics courses taught worldwide. He has also co-authored several advanced technical books including Malware Forensics, and is Editor-in-Chief of Digital Investigation: The International Journal of Digital Forensics and Incident Response. Dr. Casey received his Ph.D. from University College Dublin, and has taught digital forensics at the Johns Hopkins University Information Security Institute.

Dr. Casey has worked as R&D Team Lead at the Defense Cyber Crime Center (DC3) helping enhance their operational capabilities and develop new techniques and tools. He has also helped organizations handle security breaches and analyzes digital evidence in a wide range of investigations, including network intrusions with international scope. He has testified in civil and criminal cases, and has submitted expert reports and prepared trial exhibits for computer forensic and cyber-crime cases.

Host: Dr. Alan T. Sherman, sherman@umbc.edu