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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

The carthorse method of automating transaction processing

January 2015 by PDF Association staff
Article


PDF files have long proven popular for invoices and other documents transacted during routine business. ZUGFeRD has the potential to take invoicing beyond the printed page and into an future.

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January 2015 by Output Management for SAP and PDF/A

SAP’s product range includes a powerful document management system (DMS). Its wide range of structuring options bring order to document-based … Read more

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January 2015 by PDF Association staff
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Industries which exchange large volumes of documents with their customers – financial services, insurance, energy and others – are currently … Read more

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January 2015 by PDF Association staff
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Although PDF technology has enormous potential in mobile devices, tagged PDF is still ignored by screen readers on every mobile … Read more

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January 2015 by Duff Johnson
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A just-published report from the Australian government finds that PDF as a file-format is accessible but that PDF as supported … Read more

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December 2014 by Duff Johnson
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The 2nd edition of PDF/UA is a minor revision, but what’s more exciting is that it conforms to PDF/UA!. Developers … Read more

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December 2014 by Duff Johnson
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An overwhelming majority say that they learned readily applicable information, both from the sessions and one-on-one discussions.

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December 2014 by Duff Johnson
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The Product Representation Compact (PRC) format for sharing 3D data with end users has been published as ISO 14739-1:2014.

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December 2014 by PDF Association staff
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Naturally, many memory institutions use JHOVE’s PDF module on a daily basis for digital long term archiving. Learn about the … Read more

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December 2014 by PDF Association staff
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How can you benefit from PDF Day? Join IT managers and executives in Washington DC on December 10 and 11 … Read more

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December 2014 by Alexandra Oettler
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PDF/A l’essentiel 2.0 – PDF pour l’archivage a? long terme is the french translation of PDF/A in a Nutshell 2.0. … Read more

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