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.
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.
Thinking Beyond the PDF
Duff Johnson considers the Beyond the PDF workshop and suggests PDF/E as a means of developing real-world solutions for science publishing.
January 2011 by Duff Johnson
Duff Johnson reviews a recent report on PDF content accessibility produced by the Australian federal government. The Report accurately characterizes … Read more
October 2010 by Duff Johnson
NOTE: Since this article was published the ISO specification for PDF/A has added new “parts”. Visit the PDF/A resource page … Read more
June 2009 by XMP Metadata in PDF/A – European Patent Documents in PDF/A
The European Patent Convention says up to 4,000 new patent applications and specifications are published every week. Since its foundation … Read more
