On Metadata Context in Database Forensics

Martin S Olivier

2009

Citation information

MS Olivier, "On Metadata Context in Database Forensics," Digital Investigation, 5, 3-4, 115-123, 2009

Abstract

Database Forensics is an important topic that has received hardly any research attention. This paper starts from the premise that this lack of research is due to the inherent complexity of databases that are not fully understood in a forensic context yet. The paper considers the relevant differences between file systems and databases and then transfers concepts of File System Forensics to Database Forensics. It is found that databases are inherently multidimensional from a forensic perspective. A notation is introduced to express the meaning of various possible forensic queries within this multidimensional context. It is posited that this notation, with the multidimensional nature of databases as described, forms a map for possible Database Forensics research projects.

Keywords

Database Forensics; Metadata; Relational databases; Database; Integrity; Forensic notation

BibTeX entry

@ARTICLE(dbfor,
  AUTHOR={Martin S Olivier},
  TITLE={On Metadata Context in Database Forensics},
  JOURNAL={Digital Investigation},
  VOLUME={5},
  NUMBER={3--4},
  PAGES={115--123},
  YEAR={2009} )

Full text

The original paper is also available from the Elsevier Digital Library site.

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Last update: 27 July 2009