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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

Understanding Private Data in PDF/A

June 2024 by PDF Association staff
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Private data is everywhere is in almost every broadly-adopted file format. This Application Note answers questions about private data in PDF files.

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May 2024 by PDF Association staff
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Microsoft deepens its investment in Tagged PDF. We talked PDF with NISO. Both Android and iOS improve PDF handling. A … Read more

PDF in the Wild

May 2024 by PDF Association staff
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While PDF/X establishes rules for representing page content for print purposes, it doesn’t describe the specific requirements of the finished … Read more

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May 2024 by Peter Wyatt
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LOGIN REQUIRED: These synthetic files are intended for user experience and human-computer interaction (HCI) specialists to assess the behavior of … Read more

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May 2024 by PDF Association staff
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The latest ISO Extension to PDF 2.0 offers backwards-compatible integrity protection via Message Authentication Code (MAC).

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May 2024 by Peter Wyatt
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Accurately understanding the kinds of data that can be in a PDF and how it is stored can be very … Read more

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May 2024 by PDF Association staff
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The second PDF Week event of 2024 arrives May 6-10 in Tokyo! Members can attend remotely if they cannot join … Read more

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April 2024 by PDF Association staff
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Hugging Face.AI examines PDF. New PDF support in Android. Google reinvents a 31 year-old PDF feature. FireFox wants you to … Read more

PDF in the Wild

April 2024 by PDF Association staff
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A new ISO extension to PDF 2.0 adds PDF support for the Khronos Group’s glTF 3D format.

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April 2024 by Peter Wyatt
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All ISO publications are written according to a set of rules known as the ISO Directives. In this article, the … Read more

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April 2024 by axes4 GmbH
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Accessibility is vital for ensuring that everyone, regardless of their abilities, can fully participate in society. This article delves into … Read more

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