Greening Cloud-Enabled Big Data Storage Forensics: Syncany as a Case Study

Abstract

Abstract-The pervasive nature of cloud-enabled big data storage solutions introduces new challenges in the identification, collection, analysis, preservation and archiving of digital evidences. Investigation of such complex platforms to locate and recover traces of criminal activities is a time-consuming process. Hence, cyber forensics researchers are moving towards streamlining the investigation process by locating and documenting residual artefacts (evidences) of forensic value of users' activities on cloud-enabled big data platforms in order to reduce the investigation time and resources involved in a real-world investigation. In this paper, we seek to determine the data remnants of forensic value from Syncany private cloud storage service, a popular storage engine for big data platforms. We demonstrate the types and the locations of the artefacts that can be forensically recovered. Findings from this research contribute to an in-depth understanding of cloud-enabled big data storage forensics, which can result in reduced time and resources spent in real-world investigations involving Syncany-based cloud platforms.

CloudMe forensics: A case of big data forensic investigation

“…[81][82][83][84] In the context of cloud forensics, mobile devices can provide large amounts of relevant information such as copies of downloaded files, unencrypted credential information, sync logs, databases of file synchronization caches, and user configuration files. 27,28,85 Our examinations of the CloudMe mobile clients determined that the data directory is located…”

“…The pervasive use of smartphone devices caused a demand for mobile forensics . In the context of cloud forensics, mobile devices can provide large amounts of relevant information such as copies of downloaded files, unencrypted credential information, sync logs, databases of file synchronization caches, and user configuration files . Our examinations of the CloudMe mobile clients determined that the data directory is located in /private/var/mobile/Applications/<Universally Unique Identifier (UUID) for the CloudMe iOS app>/ and /data/data/com.excerion.android on the iOS and Android clients.…”

EH-GC: An Efficient and Secure Architecture of Energy Harvesting Green Cloud Infrastructure

“…Yee-Yang Teing et al's research [32] surveyed a cloud-enabled big data storage solution and introduced the collection, analysis, challenges in identification, and archiving of digital evidence. The authors focused on reducing the investigation time and resources involved in a real time investigation of the user's activities on a cloud-enabled big data platform.…”

Blockchain-Based Digital Forensics Investigation Framework in the Internet of Things and Social Systems

“…The existing digital forensics are facing new challenges in the context of cyber physical systems, including inaccessibility of data from different sources, data provenances in multiple locations, evidence transparency and traceability, data analysis of large volumes of dataset, etc. In the past few years, many research efforts have focused on cloud based forensic analysis [10], evidneces modelling [11], [12], [13] and assisting the law enforcement community. In the IoT environment, digital forensics are facing a number of challenges, including: (1) Defining framework for digital forensics that can face the new challenges in new environment; (2) Guaranteeing the reliability, availability, recovery of dynamic digital evidence in complicated environment; (3) Privacy concerns and new privacy laws, such as the compliances of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR); and more.…”