Microsoft Office File Inspection Application (MOFIA)

Virtually all DoD and commercial organizations have come to rely upon Microsoft (MS) Office applications for documenting and exchanging a wide range of information in text documents, briefings, spreadsheets, and multimedia documents. While the value of these applications is indisputable, not everyone is aware of their ability to carry far more information than meets the eye. Such information falls into two general categories: metadata and hidden objects. Metadata is placed in the file by the application itself, whereas hidden objects are placed in the file by the application's user, either inadvertently or intentionally. Phase I analysis revealed that almost exclusively, existing commercial products focused on the detection of metadata, for the most part ignoring hidden objects. Our Phase II approach will employ the spiral development methodology to incrementally build a file inspection product that addresses both sets of requirements, across the DoD and the commercial marketplace. The initial spiral will accomplish a thorough design and develop a filter set that includes a basic GUI. Through subsequent spirals, additional filters will be developed and the GUI will be enhanced. Testing and documentation will become more formal, and an API-based architecture will be developed to facilitate integration into external applications or systems.