HOW THE METAVERSE IS CHALLENGING FORENSIC INVESTIGATION

The Metaverse is a phenomenon that is rapidly evolving and taking shape as a services platform and mediating ecosystem for human computer interaction. It currently has an abstract and incoherent profile that challenges human imagination to visualise what is socially, technically, and commercially viable. It opens technology experiences for futures speculation and exploration of what can be done better. The utopia is to deliver a seamless and encapsulating human life experience that has no negative impacts and a strong sense of personal wellbeing. It has the financial backing from big investors, and the pent-up rage of dissatisfied technology users to drive the innovation in which and whatever ways it may evolve. The potential is for the Metaverse to sweep up all current technologies (Internet, Cloud, Blockchain, IoT, Games, AI, FINTEC, and so on) to facilitate all human service requirements into the new construct. This makes it an interesting ecosystem for Digital Investigations.

VISUALISING IOT/IIOT DATA WITH RECHARTS & INFLUXDB

IoT Data may be harvested from a wide range of sensors used in manufacturing infrastructure, weather stations, smart meters, cars, fridges, and many other devices. All this data has to be processed in order to make one interpretable data feed. This subsequent data feed will then help with reverse engineering and failure prediction. In this article we develop a visualisation platform that will display disparate IoT data for further analysis and the two technologies we will primarily be using are ‘React’ and ‘InfluxDB’.

DEFENDING RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE - LIVE FIRE EXERCISE

The UK-run Exercise DEFENCE CYBER MARVEL (Ex DCM) series are cyber exercises like no other. While the organisers, planners and participants are predominantly members of the British Army’s Royal Corps of Signals, the exercise brings together people across UK Government, Defence, Reservists, Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) and international industry to plan and execute a unique event for 39 teams from Defence (including Regular, Reserve and Civil Service personnel), Government and 15 partner nations, participating from over 12 countries, including 15 teams in Tallinn. This article was written in collaboration with the Royal Corps of Signals. Typically, government and Defence led cyber exercises are capture the flag (CTF) challenges more akin to a pub quiz than a bar brawl, and even ‘live fire’ cyber exercises tend to be straight-faced affairs with ‘Blue Teams’ (BT) defending their respective networks against a closely controlled ‘Red Team’ (RT). This does not discount the value of these training methods: CTFs are renowned for their challenge with each ‘flag’ acting as proof of a team’s technical acumen, and closely controlled ‘live fire’ exercises enable a fair and objective assessment of BTs as they train how they fight.

CRACKING THE FORENSIC INVESTIGATIONS IN THE DIGITAL AGE

While it may not seem like the technology landscape was all that different in 2014 versus today, consider the sheer magnitude of innovation that’s since transpired. Back then, shooting HD video on the iPhone had only recently been introduced, onboard storage options maxed out at 64GB, automated cloud backup services like iCloud were still in their infancy, and social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram were still primarily limited to photos and text. These days, we can buy phones that can record in 8k and can store up to 1TB of data, that seamlessly integrate with a multitude of cloud services to ensure we never lose our data, and can document our lives in vivid detail using an assortment of multimedia formats across a growing expanse of mobile apps.

INVESTIGATORS IN DANGER

While data leaks and breaches are a serious issue for any organisation, for digital forensic teams it presents an even more consequential risk. Due to the sensitive work undertaken by police and other public sector bodies, especially in areas such as Northern Ireland, where assaults on police reached a five-year-high in 2023, data leaks can leave staff, victims, witnesses and even perpetrators in significant danger. This risk is heightened further when you consider the type of work these teams do. As part of their responsibilities, digital forensic investigators will often be handling devices containing material of unknown origin and intent. On top of this, as part of their investigations, they can be required to visit areas of the web which are unsecured, or access attachments and files which could contain malware or other malicious payloads.

Plus all the regular features...