The reliability of detecting digital photo alteration

5^th International Conference on Forensic Research & Technology

October 31-November 02, 2016 San Francisco, USA

Szde Yu

Wichtia State University, USA

Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Forensic Res

Abstract :

The present study is aimed to evaluate the reliability in using existing forensic methods to detect the possibility of digital photos being altered deliberately either to conceal evidence or to add misleading information. Does modern photographic technology make such detection more difficult? Does professional editing software such as Photoshop make such detection more unreliable? These questions are important to answer as they directly pertain to the credibility of digital evidence presented in court. We recruit forensic experts to examine a batch of digital photos in jpeg format, some of which have been deliberately altered digitally by a variety of software. The photos are generated from a variety of devices including cell phones of different brands and digital cameras of different brands. The experts are allowed to use whatever methods or tools at their disposal to determine which photos have been altered and more importantly what content has been altered. We then calculate the accuracy rate in these expert's efforts. The end is to explore whether a certain method is more reliable regardless of the expert and whether a certain type of device poses more challenges regardless of the expert. The preliminary findings do not bode well for the forensic community due to the low accuracy rates. For the most part, the expert�s proficiency is not at fault. Rather, the true challenges seem to stem from the rapid advances of modern technologies in both the development of photography-related hardware and software.

Biography :

Email: szdeyu@gmail.com