NCJ Number
222502
Date Published
2008
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This article addresses issues specific to digital image authentication done in relation to image analysis.
Abstract
This article provides guidance to laboratory personnel concerning practices appropriate when performing the authentication of digital images in a forensic setting, as differentiated from analysis in authenticating images for use as evidence. The article notes that image authentication is a subtask of image analysis, and a number of considerations, some cited therein, are to be taken into account when developing a proficiency in this area. Some of the general considerations cited are: provenance; metadata analysis; detection of manipulation; detection of image creation and staging; continuity issues, and criteria for reporting. Specific considerations discussed include the application of these analytic topics as applicable to child pornography investigations, and, in addition to a discussion of the issues provided, depicts a case work-flow example for these investigations (as delineated in SWGIT’s Best Practices for Forensic Image Analysis). These considerations are also applied to a discussion of their use in analyzing purported execution videos, and the difference in analytical focus between these and other investigations. This article is based on existing authentication tasks as employed by forensic analysts, and suggests that adherence to these practices can be of value to analysts, and can help refute subsequent defense claims of collusion to misrepresent official findings. Figures