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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

Nordic Council of Ministers adopts PDF/UA

March 2016 by Duff Johnson
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The Nordic Council of Ministers adopts PDF/UA for a key publication series.

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March 2016 by PDF Association staff
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This year, the successful PDF Days Europe will be held in Berlin. Across two days, you’ll be able to choose … Read more

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March 2016 by PDF Association staff
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This year, the established and popular PDF Days Europe will be held on June 14 and 15, 2016, in the … Read more

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March 2016 by Duff Johnson
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Release 0.10 includes a substantially improved CLI, an initial set of PDF/A-2 test files, and more.

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March 2016 by Duff Johnson
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The latest Quark Xpress will be able to repurpose PDF page content into its own object and layout model.

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March 2016 by Duff Johnson
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A world-leading chat application adds PDF support before any other.

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February 2016 by PDF Association staff
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The new Chairman of the PDF/E Competence Center discusses the origin of the new organization in support of engineering applications … Read more

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February 2016 by Duff Johnson
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Among many other accessibility-related enhancements to its Office products in 2016, Microsoft plans to improve support for PDF/UA.

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February 2016 by Duff Johnson
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As with every other industry, the architectural, engineering and construction industries have been slowly transitioning from paper to electronic documentation … Read more

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February 2016 by Duff Johnson
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PDF files can be hard to search with confidence. Here’s why it matters, how it happens, and what you can … Read more

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February 2016 by Duff Johnson
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Videos and presentations from the November, 2015 PDF Accessibility Days are now available!

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