digital forensic readiness in megacities toki, 2014
TRANSCRIPT
Digital Forensic Readiness in Megacities
TOKI, 2014
Authors
Jelili Oyelade1, Alaba Ojediran2,3* and Itunu Isewon1
1Department of Computer and Information Sciences,Covenant University,
PMB 1023, Ota, Nigeria.
2School of Science and TechnologyNational Open University, Nigeria.
3Data Processing Unit,Lagos State University,
PMB 00001,LASU Post Office, Ojo, Lagos, Nigeria.
* Corresponding Author : [email protected]
Definitions
What is a Megacity?What is Digital Forensics?What is Digital Forensic Readiness?What is a Digital Evidence?What are some of the sources of Digital
Evidences?
A Megacity is usually defined as a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories, sharing industry, infrastructure, and housing with a total population in excess of ten million people.
As at July,2014 there are about 28 megacities
in the world.
The United Nations (UN) estimâtes that at its present growth rate, Lagos State will be third largest mega city in the world by 2015 after Tokyo in Japan and Bombay in India.
Digital Forensic is the use of scientifically derived and proven methods toward the preservation, collection, validation, identification, analysis, interpretation, documentation and presentation of digital evidence derived from digital sources.
This is for the purpose of facilitating or furthering the reconstruction of events found to be criminal, or helping to anticipate unauthorized actions shown to be disruptive to planned operations.
Digital Forensic Readiness
Digital Forensic Readiness (DFR) is the ability of an organization to maximize its potential to use digital evidence while minimizing the cost of an investigation.
Digital Evidence
Digital evidences are electronically stored records, facts, signs, information of probative value that shows clearly that an event occurred or that a crime has been committed.
Sources of Digital Evidences• Phones, tablets, iPads,• E-mails, • Digital photographs, • ATM transaction logs, • Word processing documents, • Instant message histories, • Files saved from accounting programs and Spreadsheets, • Internet browser histories, • Databases, • The contents of computer memory, • Computer backups, • Computer printouts,• Global positioning system tracks, • Logs from a hotel’s electronic door locks, and • Digital video or audio files.
Uses of Digital Evidences
The use of digital evidence has increased in the past few decades. These include :
Decision Making
Crime Investigation
Legal Actions
Disaster Recovery Planning
Megacity Planning
Introduction
Megacities may be congested and complex, but they are also among the planet’s most exciting places to live. They have proven effective in stimulating creativity, innovation and economic development; factors that often lead to improved quality of life. (Ericsson, 2013).
However, they have there own challenges too.
Megacities; Mega ChallengesOf the divers’ threats to the existence of mega cities, a
recent research on Megacity Challenges by GlobeScan and MRC McLean (2010) found the leading ones to be:
Organized Crime (put first by 24%),
Corruption or Incompetent Law Enforcement (15%)
Poor Planning and Poor City management (10%)
Terrorism (9%)
Natural Disasters (9%)
This paper decides to beam more light on Organized Crime, which is the highest threat to the existence of mega cities. Organized Crime is a disruption to planned operations, and it is undesirable in megacities administration.
Organized Crime: The Major Threat.
In other words, the causes of crime, terrorism and natural disasters are criminals, terrorists, and natural disasters, or incompetence in fighting them”(Siemens, 2010) .
Consequently, if we can’t eliminate criminals, terrorist and natural disasters from occurring, we should be able to competently fight them.
Cost of Megacities Challenges
• Economic Cost• Social Cost• Environmental• Financial
ICT cum CRIME
The Need
Digital Technology, ICT &Computers has become an important part of our lives and as such will play a pivotal role in building and managing megacities. As digital data are consistently growing in size and complexity, and the amount of stored digital records is doubling at an estimated rate of every 18 to 24 months, the majority of crimes committed today has digital component.
Where Do We Go From Here?
This then leads us to the main issues of this paper, which is, how can we ensure that the systems in an emerging megacity, are digital-forensic ready to tackle its challenges?
Parad I gm
SHIFT
As the paradigm shifts from reacting to problems to predicting & prevention of problems, we hereby propose a model that seeks to solve these problems proactively.
Proposed Megacity Digital Forensic Readiness Model (MEDFORM)
Phases of MEDFORM
1. Identification of Possible Sources of Evidence
2. System Modelling for Admissible Evidence
Preservation and Retrieval
3. Systems Automation and Integration
4. Policy Analysis and Policy Formation
5. Systems Presentation (Education and Usage)
6. Monitoring and Review
Benefits of the Proposed MEDFORM
• Proactive actions• Ready source of evidence for real-time
decisions• Prevention of Disruptions• Reduction in administrative cost, on the long
run.• Fortified systems
Lagos as Case StudyLagos state has made great strides in the area of
data gathering for decision support in developing and sustaining her megacity status. These include: Lagos State Residents Registration Initiative Deployment of fiber optics Digitalization of operation Operating and sustaining Lagos State security
command. Initiating the establishment of a world class
forensic lab in Badagry
As megacities management seeks to digitize their operations, they must also ensure that the data acquired from different facets are integrated and are appropriately utilized in effective decision making. A typical example of this need and use of data for effective megacity management is transportation and traffic congestion, accident management, crime mapping, health, housing and education.
If Lagos would successfully attain and maintain the predicted third largest mega city in the world by 2015, it would have to do more in the area of DFR by working on building a Connected System that is Digital Forensic-Ready.
Consequently, Lagos must maximize it use of digital evidences collected, at a minimum operations cost.
Observations
Conclusion
1. Technology is pivotal in effectively curbing crime and effective management of megacities.
2. DFR is a must in megacities.3. Reactive crime fighting is costly and disruptive to
megacity management.4. The privacy of megacity citizens might be compromised
for security5. Forensic-Ready Systems are necessary in order to
effectively model and predict security concerns and address them even before they prime, or reduce their impact if they eventually happen.
Further Research Using the proposed model (MEDFORM) above, in an
emerging megacity like Lagos as a case study, further research should seek to
i. aggregate and integrated data from the diverse sources in the city;
ii. predict and model an events or threats, using the data; and
iii. test the predicted event for validation.
When this is done, it will help to ascertain the reliability of the data(digital evidences) collected, as well as prove, how is was collected, stored and retrieved for use.
Corresponding Author
Ojediran Alaba Bolaji• System Analyst at the Data Processing Unit of
the Lagos State University, Ojo, Lagos, Nigeria.&
• M.Sc. Student at the National Open University, Nigeria.
• Email: [email protected]