Drone forensics redefined: Integrating live, digital, and non-digital evidence acquisition systems

Area of Science:

• Digital Forensics
• Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) Security
• Incident Response

Background:

• Increasing proliferation of drone technology leads to escalating threats, including attacks, crimes, and accidents.
• Existing countermeasures primarily focus on real-time drone detection, identification, and neutralization.
• There is a growing need for post-incident analysis to understand drone activities and causes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To highlight the importance of drone forensics in identifying flight paths, pilot information, and accident causes.
• To present a systematic analysis framework and algorithm structure tailored to drone forensics.
• To review current drone forensics technologies and enhance their legal evidence capabilities.

Main Methods:

• Combines principles of traditional digital and non-digital forensics.
• Emphasizes the role of live forensics for immediate post-incident data collection and analysis.
• Develops a systematic analysis framework and algorithm structure reflecting drone-specific technical characteristics.

Main Results:

• A systematic analysis framework and algorithm structure for drone forensics has been proposed.
• The study reviews major drone forensics technologies.
• The proposed framework aims to improve the legal admissibility and utility of drone forensic evidence.

Conclusions:

• Drone forensics is essential for addressing the growing challenges posed by drone misuse.
• The developed framework and reviewed technologies can significantly enhance the effectiveness of drone investigations.
• This research contributes to strengthening the legal evidence capacity of drone forensics.