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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

Adobe makes source code for 1984-era PostScript available

December 2022 by PDF Association staff
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Adobe releases the source code for an early version of PostScript, the forerunner of PDF.

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November 2022 by PDF Association staff
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DARPA will provide seed funding of $1.3M for research and prototyping centered on reinventing the PDF specification and delivering on … Read more

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November 2022 by PDF Association staff
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Our all-new presentation archive now includes recordings from PDF Days Europe 2022!

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November 2022 by PDF Association staff
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Impressions of the PDF Days Europe 2022 in September in Berlin at the Novotel Tiergarten. Images of several keynotes, sessions, … Read more

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October 2022 by Duff Johnson
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As of October 28 2022 worldwide searches for “pdf” had peaked in March, 2022. Even as internet searches continue to … Read more

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October 2022 by PDF Association staff
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In a new podcast episode, SE Radio’s Gavin Henry interviews PDF Association CTO Wyatt and CEO Johnson about a wide … Read more

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October 2022 by Dietrich von Seggern (callas software GmbH)
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Some time ago Adobe announced that it “will disable support for authoring with Type 1 fonts by January 2023”. Dietrich … Read more

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September 2022 by PDF Association staff
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Following PDF Days Europe, the PDF Association’s annual All-Member Meeting met in Berlin on September 13, 2022 to hear the … Read more

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September 2022 by Duff Johnson
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PDF Days Europe 2022 was a great success, with the overwhelming majority of attendees reporting a high degree of satisfaction.

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September 2022 by PDF Association staff
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The PDF Association publishes new guidance to aide in optimizing PDF files for maximally-efficient rendering and print.

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August 2022 by PDF Association staff
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Register now for your last chance this year for two days of immersion in PDF technology expertise and PDF industry … Read more

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