University of New Haven Cyber Forensics Team Launches Digital Forensics Database

First Time Cases, Investigators Linked Globally

  • Jul 11, 2017

The University of New Haven announced today it has created a digital forensic evidence archive to revolutionize how investigators around the world analyze cyber forensic evidence and share critical data.

The new Artifact Genome Project (AGP), will document how various apps and digital information used as forensic evidence are structured and decoded. It will record where and what type of digital evidence can be located and, if data is encrypted, how to unencrypt it.

The initiative, modeled after the groundbreaking Human Genome Project, unites researchers and practitioners to centralize knowledge about digital forensic artifacts. Now a law enforcement professional in Chicago can see how a researcher in Miami decoded an app such as Tinder, which uses a location-based search-mobile app to connect users. Investigators can avoid having to themselves “crack the code” of each device or version of an app.

The database will allow investigators worldwide to solve cases more quickly as they will no longer have to figure out for themselves what others have already learned.  Using the AGP platform, they can research what has been done before or message other investigators for help.

“So many applications and so many technologies are being created and continuously updated, that forensic investigators can’t keep up,” said Ibrahim Baggili, Elder Family Endowed Chair and founder of the university’s Cyber Forensics Research Group “Without the artifact archive, every investigator is trying to figure out every technology.”

Now when investigators determine how to get information from a smartphone, for example, they can upload the “artifact”   -- information about where and how they found the information --- to the Artifact Genome Project. 

The AGP allows researchers to keep up with technology in drones, Fitbits, mobile phones, laptops with different operating systems, and millions of applications in the Google Play and Apple Stores, Baggili said.


Featured

  • Creating More Versatility

    Today, AI has become top of mind for most security professionals. It is the topic of conversation in the technology world and continues to transform the way data is used to make important business decisions. Read Now

  • Report: 78 Percent of CISOs Seeing Significant Impact from AI-Powered Cyber Threats

    Darktrace recently unveiled its 2025 State of AI Cybersecurity report. The findings reveal that 78% of Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) surveyed say that AI-powered threats are having a significant impact on their organizations, a 5% increase1 from 2024. While an increasing number of CISOs report feeling a significant impact from AI threats, more than 60% now say that they are adequately prepared to defend against these threats, an increase of nearly 15% year-over-year. However, insufficient AI knowledge and skills and a shortage of personnel and talent continue to be listed as the two top inhibitors to a successful defense. Read Now

  • Teaching AI New Tricks

    You have probably heard that AI-enabled security cameras are evolving the role of traditional surveillance cameras, shifting the focus from passive monitoring to active problem-solving and operational insights. AI technology changes fast, so what is new can be considered only news in just a few months. Read Now

  • From the Most Visible to the Less Apparent

    The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) states “There are 16 critical infrastructure sectors whose assets, systems, and networks, whether physical or virtual, are considered so vital to the United States that their incapacitation or destruction would have a debilitating effect on security, national economic security, and national public health or safety or any combination thereof.” Read Now

Most   Popular

New Products

  • ComNet CNGE6FX2TX4PoE

    The ComNet cost-efficient CNGE6FX2TX4PoE is a six-port switch that offers four Gbps TX ports that support the IEEE802.3at standard and provide up to 30 watts of PoE to PDs. It also has a dedicated FX/TX combination port as well as a single FX SFP to act as an additional port or an uplink port, giving the user additional options in managing network traffic. The CNGE6FX2TX4PoE is designed for use in unconditioned environments and typically used in perimeter surveillance.

  • EasyGate SPT and SPD

    EasyGate SPT SPD

    Security solutions do not have to be ordinary, let alone unattractive. Having renewed their best-selling speed gates, Cominfo has once again demonstrated their Art of Security philosophy in practice — and confirmed their position as an industry-leading manufacturers of premium speed gates and turnstiles.

  • AC Nio

    AC Nio

    Aiphone, a leading international manufacturer of intercom, access control, and emergency communication products, has introduced the AC Nio, its access control management software, an important addition to its new line of access control solutions.