Towards a Better Understanding of Drone Forensics

Abstract

Unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) have gained increased popularity as their innovative uses continue to expand across various fields. Despite their numerous beneficial uses, drones have unfortunately been misused, through many reported cases, to launch illegal and sometimes criminal activities that pose direct threats to individuals, organizations, public safety and national security. These threats have recently led law enforcement agencies and digital forensic investigators to pay special attention to the forensic aspects of drones. This important research topic, however, remains underexplored. This study aims to further explore drone forensics in terms of challenges, forensic investigation procedures and experimental results through a forensic investigation study performed on a Parrot AR drone 2.0. In this study, the authors present new insights on drone forensics in terms of forensic approaches, access to drone's digital containers and the retrieval of key information that can assist digital forensic investigators establish ownership, recuperate flight data and gain access to media files.