Linux Forensics for IoT: Hello World

Joseph Mccormack
Champlain College

Austin Grupposo
Champlain College

Ali Hadi
Champlain College

Nowadays, we are seeing a rise in IoT devices being used everywhere, and, sooner or later, we will be seeing them in digital investigations. As you may know, there are over 26 million activated devices used all around the country, and eventually, the world. With more interaction between man and computer, there will be more ways to utilize data from IoT devices to help digital forensics analysts with their endeavors. The goal behind this talk is to show that IoT devices are still systems and these systems could be investigated. Most of these IoT devices have Linux operating systems, so this talk is about how to apply Linux Forensics but this time on IoT devices.

This talk will also showcase the research done on IoT devices from a Linux Forensics viewpoint. The research entailed different types of devices ranging from smart homes (thermostats, light switches, etc) to security systems (cameras, locks, etc).

About Joseph Mccormack

Joseph McCormack, a Sophomore at Champlain College located in Burlington, Vermont with the intent of gaining a bachelor’s degree in Computer and Digital Forensics. He, in his Freshman year, was offered a position at the Leahy Center for Digital Investigation working on a research project aptly named IoT Linux. Through this position, he has gained understanding through research and experimentation in both general Linux forensics as well as IoT forensics at the bleeding edge of technology. Before enrollment into college, Joseph has graduated from H.C. Wilcox Technical High school in Meriden, Connecticut in the Information Systems Technology field, working both with students and teachers in troubleshooting and networking as well as basic and intermediate computer fundamentals.

About Austin Grupposo

Austin Grupposo, a Massachusetts native and Sophomore Digital Forensics student at Champlain College. Austin gained knowledge and relevant skills as an Information Security Analyst at Interactions LLC focusing on incident response, malware analysis, and information assurance for the largest conversational AI company in the world. Austin now spends his time as a part-time Incident Response Analyst for Hi5 Studios, an entertainment company and YouTube network based in Valencia, CA while also serving as a part-time researcher in the field of IoT Forensics for the Leahy Center based in Burlington, VT.

About Ali Hadi

Ali Hadi is a Senior Cybersecurity Specialist with 15+ years of industrial experience in Information Technology (IT), currently working as a full time professor and researcher for both the Computer & Digital Forensics and Cybersecurity Departments at Champlain College, USA. He provides consulting in several areas of Cybersecurity including digital forensics and incident response, malware analysis, cyber threat hunting, and penetration testing. He is also an author, speaker, and freelance instructor. His research interests include digital forensics, incident response, malware analysis, and cyber threat hunting. More details could be found here: https://www.ashemery.com/bio.html

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