Forward Area Portable Forensics System

I.D.E.A.L. Technology Corporation (IDEAL) intends to design a Portable Analyzer for Data Storage (PADS). The PADS will adapt methods used in forensic science but will be optimized to field use for identification of strategic data. This process may precedea laboratory follow-up analysis. The PADS shall allow analysis of several data storage devices, including hard disks, compact discs, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), flash media, etc. In addition, the PADS shall be designed for use by tactical officersrather than forensic scientists.The PADS will be assembled from Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) hardware which is designed for field operations. The operating system and software shall be adapted from Open-Source Software (OSS) components to better meet the objectives of this proposal,lending modularity and reduced development time to the design. The PADS will be optimized for speed and reduction of irrelevant data rather than the data preservation and authentication common to forensic science.I.D.E.A.L. Technology Corporation's previous experience with forensic applications and methods includes preliminary work on both a Linux forensic toolkit and on a training system engine for forensic investigators. I.D.E.A.L.'s numerous contacts withinvarious levels of law enforcement and the justice system have also facilitated several information exchanges concerning the area of digital forensics. Phase I of the project shall culminate in a design specification that encompasses the COTS components ofthe PADS system, and the specifications and functional operation of the software which is to be developed or modified as part of this project. A working prototype incorporating the complete hardware system and a rudimentary prototype of the software to beused on the PADS will be built and demonstrated during Phase I. This phase will be considered completed when it is shown that the PADS hardware is able to perform an analysis of both a computer hard disk drive and a PDA flash memory device while operatingin a standalone condition.Phase II, if pursued, shall bring the PADS into fruition based upon the design and methodologies used in Phase I.