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Cloud Forensics - Part 1 - Shape of things to come

This is the first in a series of posts about cloud computing, and specifically cloud forensic technology. Aptly named, cloud computing encompasses our digital planet. For some it adds significantly to existing Internet threats of identity theft and social media misuse.

Insights Cloud Forensics - Part 1 - Shape of things to come
Wednesday, 28 June 2017

Few risks come without reward, however, and cloud computing is a natural evolution of pre-existing Internet technologies; a digital convenience already being transparently leveraged by many users and driving massive engines of commerce in the business world.

Why cloud and what is it officially?

The use of cloud shapes in network diagrams as an abstraction of ‘the Internet’ is a likely origin for the cloud terminology. Official definitions have evolved over time with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) publishing their 16 definition in September 2011 which is summarised as:

“Cloud computing is a model for enabling ubiquitous, convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction. This cloud model is composed of five essential characteristics, three service models, and four deployment models.”
The definition goes on to describe the five essential characteristics of cloud computing, which included:
  • on-demand self-service
  • broad network access
  • resource pooling
  • rapid elasticity
  • measured service.
Many of these characteristics would be transparent to the subscriber and a user’s simplified experience of the cloud is more likely just being able to get to their media collections and data from any of their devices.
If you are using a computer, chances are you are using cloud computing which is part and parcel of Internet based services like Gmail, iTunes and Dropbox.
These services are mostly about data storage. However, the cloud can also provide computer processing power. For example, Amazon Elastic Cloud (EC2) is pay as you go, scalable, cloud computing service. EC2 offers incredibly flexible minute by minute rental of powerful, optimised to task, computer servers with the ability to add and decrease processing and storage capacity with minimal intervention. Computer server farms in Data Centres around the world house armies of sleeping computer giants that can be launched and retired with a few clicks of the mouse. Online retailers like CatchofTheDay depend on this scalable power when hosting special shopping events.

Cloud forensics

While NIST is yet to release a definition of cloud forensics, this is term that has a general adoption among technology investigators to distinguish the unique nuances of cloud computing and its impact on forensic investigations.
The implications of cloud computing on forensic investigations and eDiscovery are wide and varied and will be the subject of further blog posts in this discussion stream.  A sampling of future topics includes:
  • The Singapore High Court judgement, Dirak Asia Pte Ltd v Chew Hua Kok  2013, which gives ‘consideration of seemingly preconceived notions of possession, custody and power over documents found in “the cloud”’.
  • Leveraging the Amazon Cloud to accelerate legitimate password cracking where encryption is hampering forensic investigation.
  • Issues in collection of cloud based resources during search order executions.
  • Digital artefacts left by common cloud computing resources including Apple iCloud backups, Dropbox, Gmail and Facebook.