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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

Webinar: Introduction to Document Accessibility on April 24, 2014

April 2014 by Matthias Wagner
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With accessibility laws and regulations positioned to become stricter and more regulated in 2014, many organizations are looking for answers to why PDF Accessibility is becoming so established as the … Read more

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April 2014 by PDF Association staff
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Evolving Document-Centric Processes with Advanced Rendering to PDF in Life Science · Meeting Document Requirements in Life Sciences: The Art … Read more

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April 2014 by PDF Association staff
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The 1.01 update to the Matterhorn Protocol is now available for free download.

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March 2014 by PDF Association staff
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Since its beginnings in 1993, PDF technology has become a gigantic ecosystem with thousands of different providers. Originally a proprietary … Read more

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March 2014 by Olaf Drümmer
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Practical guide from PDF Association member Global Graphics

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March 2014 by PDF Association staff
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This month LEAD’s white paper is an extremely practical one. In fact, we even had a few conversations with customers … Read more

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March 2014 by Olaf Drümmer
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The IS&T Archiving 2014 will – among many other sessions and courses – also feature a PDF/A course. Instructors are … Read more

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March 2014 by PDF Association staff
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«PDF Days in Europe 2014» will start with the Educational Day – three tracks of presentations on a wide range of PDF … Read more

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February 2014 by PDF Association staff
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The PDF Association manages LinkedIn groups for PDF, PDF/A, PDF/UA, PDF/E, PDF/X and PDF/VT.

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February 2014 by PDF Association staff
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The US National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), the agency responsible for long-term federal government records, has published NARA Bulletin … Read more

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February 2014 by Phil Spreier
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For 3D PDF documents, this post describes how to change the center of rotation for the Rotate Tool.

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