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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

Marketing Working Group – E-Invoicing: Is PDF’s Dominance in Jeopardy?

September 2023 by Thomas Zellmann
Article


To encourage marketing staff to sign up for the PDF Technology Marketing Working Group we decided to record a recent presentation to the MWG by one of our members, and … Read more

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September 2023 by PDF Association staff
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PDF Week in San Francisco this October is hosting a free industry Symposium on Advancing the PDF Imaging Model! There’s … Read more

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September 2023 by Apryse
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Read Riley Kooh’s vision for the future of PDF technology over the next 25 years.

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September 2023 by Peter Wyatt
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PDF developers everywhere have a new resource; targeted test cases highlighting differences between implementations.

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September 2023 by PDF Association staff
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Funky (but legit!) PDF, sneaky malware PDF, poisoned PDF, PDF for LEGO, NASA does PDF… it’s a wild PDF world … Read more

PDF in the Wild

August 2023 by Peter Wyatt
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The PDF Association’s PDF cheat sheets are designed to help developers work more efficiently. They are highly condensed summaries, with … Read more

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August 2023 by Duff Johnson
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The PDF industry mourns the passing of the Adobe founder and visionary whose inventions and insights led to the creation … Read more

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August 2023 by Peter Wyatt
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PDF is a large, complex specification! Developers often look for first steps in its implementation. This article offers some suggestions.

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August 2023 by PDF Association staff
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LLMs and generative artificial intelligence, as much (or more) than everything else computers can do, is subject to the iron … Read more

PDF in the Wild

July 2023 by Duff Johnson
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Overcoming ossification requires everyone to agree on the strategy and specific technical changes affecting all stakeholders.

Article

July 2023 by Peter Wyatt
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PDF Association members now have a new resource: advance previews of targeted test cases highlighting differences between implementations, including in-depth … Read more

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