Month/Year of Graduation

5-2025

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science (B.S.)

Department

Interdisciplinary Informatics

First Advisor

Dr. George Grispos

Abstract

This project investigates the forensic risks and investigative challenges posed by smart frames, which are WiFi-enabled Internet of Things (IoT) devices used to store, display, and share digital media. These devices often collect and synchronize sensitive media, metadata, and behavioral logs across cloud ecosystems that lack adequate transparency and privacy safeguards. Routine Activity Theory (RAT) provides a criminological framework for examining how the convergence of a motivated offender, a suitable target, and the absence of capable guardianship creates opportunities for misuse and forensic exploitation. Smart frames represent ideal targets because of weak default security configurations, passive data synchronization, and limited user awareness of data exposure risks.

Through forensic experimentation and theoretical analysis, this project uncovers how forensic evidence can persist or become obscured within smart frame environments. Key findings include the recoverability of deleted data, unclear data ownership in cloud storage, and the forensic challenges caused by proprietary firmware and inconsistent encryption. The analysis reveals how smart frames complicate traditional forensic models and legal procedures, particularly in the context of cloud-based evidence and informed user consent. In response, the project recommends specific countermeasures such as improving encryption practices, adapting forensic tools for IoT environments, and establishing clearer legal frameworks for data access. These findings contribute to the advancement of digital forensics by highlighting the importance of forensic readiness and privacy-by-design in emerging IoT ecosystems.

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