Forward Area Portable Forensics System

I.D.E.A.L. Technology Corporation desires to continue its successful Phase I effort in order to design, develop, and produce a portable, easy-to-use device for military personnel that adapts principles used in digital forensics applications, but isoptimized for use in the field, for the rapid identification and analysis of strategically significant computer data. The use of this proposed device may precede a more detailed laboratory follow-up analysis when both levels of detail and speed arerequired.The device will readily allow capture and analysis of most commonly encountered data storage devices, including computer hard disk drives, compact discs, removable storage devices, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), cell phones, flash media, digitalimaging devices, etc. In addition, the device will be designed for use by military tactical officers, rather than trained forensic scientists and will be optimized for speed and reduction of irrelevant data, rather than the data preservation andauthentication that would be normally required when gathering digital evidence for a legal proceeding.The device will be assembled from Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) hardware that is considered appropriate for military field operations. The device's operating system and application software will be adapted from existing Open Source Software (OSS)components modified to better meet the objectives of this effort.A demand in both the military and private sectors exists for a forensic device that is easy-to-use and deployable in the field, and that focuses not on evidentiary value but instead on rapidanalysis of the obtainable/seized data. Anticipated benefits of the device include it being self-contained, faster, and more simple to use than existing forensic toolsets, and its ability to read a wide variety of different media.At the successful completion of Phase II, the device developed will be usable by DoD personnel on information gathering missions and for counter-terrorism efforts, parole officers searching subject''s computers to ensure compliance with all conditions ofrelease, auditors and law enforcement personnel faced with large amounts of media to examine, and even parents checking on their children's use of a home computer.