Forensic authentication method for audio recordings generated by Voice Recorder application on Samsung Galaxy Watch4...

Area of Science:

• Digital Forensics
• Wearable Technology

Background:

• Smartwatch adoption is increasing, with audio recording capabilities becoming common.
• Forensic analysis of audio from wearable devices presents unique challenges due to data handling and synchronization.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and validate a forensic authentication method for audio recordings from Samsung Galaxy Watch4 series smartwatches.
• To differentiate between original and manipulated audio files originating from smartwatches.

Main Methods:

• Collected 240 audio recordings from four Samsung Galaxy Watch4 models paired with smartphones.
• Analyzed audio latency, bandwidth, timestamps, and file structures using Android Debug Bridge (ADB).
• Compared smartwatch-generated audio characteristics with those from paired smartphone applications.

Main Results:

• Significant differences were observed in audio latency, writable bandwidth, and file structure between smartwatch and smartphone recordings.
• Audio file structures allowed classification into unmanipulated, attempted manipulation, or manipulated categories.
• Forensic authentication of Samsung Galaxy Watch4 audio recordings was achieved by analyzing file system timestamps.

Conclusions:

• The proposed method enables reliable forensic authentication of audio recordings from Samsung Galaxy Watch4 devices.
• Analysis of specific audio characteristics and file system data is key to verifying audio integrity.
• This research contributes to the field of digital forensics for emerging wearable technologies.