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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

PDF/X: The key facts

May 2017 by Dietrich von Seggern
Article


PDF/X is a subset of PDF – see “Technical side and requirements of PDF/X” for an overview. As such, conforming with PDF/X means accepting specific requirements and restrictions to the … Read more

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March 2017 by PDF Association staff
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How will the PDF 2.0 interop workshops work? This article explains the process of building the test-matrix to establish possibilities … Read more

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March 2017 by PDF Association staff
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With over 35 informative sessions across a wide range of topics spanning the future of PDF technology, this year’s PDF … Read more

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February 2017 by Duff Johnson
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As we reported yesterday, those in the crypto world are well-aware that Google and others have proven that SHA-1, the … Read more

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February 2017 by PDF Association staff
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It is now proven that the contents of a PDF hashed with SHA-1 can be changed without invalidating the signature, … Read more

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February 2017 by PDF Association staff
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With over 35 informative sessions across a wide range of topics, including next-generation PDF, this year’s PDF Days event is … Read more

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February 2017 by PDF Association staff
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On Wednesday, May 17, 2017, directly following PDF Days Europe, the PDF Days Post-Conference offers a variety of various workshops … Read more

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February 2017 by Duff Johnson
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The veraPDF consortium has completed PREFORMA’s prototyping phase, and has been awarded the contract for the final six month testing … Read more

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February 2017 by PDF Association staff
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With over 35 informative sessions across a wide range of topics, including the next-generation PDF project, this year’s PDF Days … Read more

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February 2017 by PDF 2.0 interop events: risk management and efficiency

Some customers will decide to make the jump to PDF 2.0. Others will be blissfully unaware that it’s heading toward … Read more

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February 2017 by Duff Johnson
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The first post-Adobe ISO standard for PDF technology creates new opportunities for developers of electronic document software. Berlin, February 2, … Read more

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