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A case study in PDF forensics: The Epstein PDFs

This article details a PDF forensics case study on a small, random selection of the Epstein PDF files released by the US Department of Justice (DoJ). The tranche contains 4,085 PDF files, with an estimated 5,879 remaining unreleased. Key findings include:

  • A difference in PDF version reporting between forensic tools.
  • The presence of two incremental updates.
  • The discovery of a hidden (orphaned) document information dictionary revealing the software used in processing.
  • The DoJ avoided JPEG images to prevent metadata leakage.
  • Overall, the DoJ’s sanitization workflow could be improved to reduce file size and information leakage.
Peter Wyatt

By Peter Wyatt
December 2025

A case study in PDF forensics: The Epstein PDFs

This article details a PDF forensics case study on a small, random selection of the Epstein PDF files released by the US Department of Justice (DoJ). The tranche contains 4,085 PDF files, with an estimated 5,879 remaining unreleased. Key findings include:

  • A difference in PDF version reporting between forensic tools.
  • The presence of two incremental updates.
  • The discovery of a hidden (orphaned) document information dictionary revealing the software used in processing.
  • The DoJ avoided JPEG images to prevent metadata leakage.
  • Overall, the DoJ’s sanitization workflow could be improved to reduce file size and information leakage.
Peter Wyatt

By Peter Wyatt
December 2025

Twenty Years of PDF/X – Part II

March 2022 by Dov Isaacs (Dov Isaacs)
Article


In this part of ‘Twenty Years of PDF/X’, Dov Isaacs explores how PDF/X tamed PostScript and its impact on the publishing industry.

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March 2022 by Dov Isaacs (Dov Isaacs)
Dov Isaacs
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This is the first of a four part series of articles examining the path leading to today’s PDF/X standards.

Article

March 2022 by François Charette (Compart GmbH)
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Function as a Service (FaaS) as a relatively new cloud model is also an attractive option in document and output … Read more

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March 2022 by Thomas Zellmann
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This post provides users with a quick overview of PDF/A explaining what it is, why it should be used, what … Read more

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February 2022 by Duff Johnson
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This Global Information Governance Day it’s time to focus on how better PDF = better IG. #GIGD

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February 2022 by Is the role of encryption key for information governance?
Computer storage devices and a shield.

It is essential to understand that with long term storage secure formats does not in themselves prevent user error or … Read more

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January 2022 by Carsten Luedtge (Compart GmbH)
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In fact, it’s about up-valuing content and documents to intelligent information media. In the final analysis, data is the raw … Read more

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January 2022 by Peter Wyatt
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PDF Association’s CTO, Peter Wyatt discusses text strings in PDF.

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November 2021 by Carsten Luedtge (Compart GmbH)
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Key performance indicator (KPI) systems must also be strictly oriented to the strategic corporate goals in document and output management … Read more

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November 2021 by Peter Wyatt
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PDF Association CTO Peter Wyatt explains the transparent imaging model in PDF and recounts its significance since Adobe introduced this … Read more

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November 2021 by PDF Association staff
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Almost every email client can save email messages as PDF files, but none do so in a manner that retains … Read more

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