How Does Metadata Help in Digital Forensic Investigations?

"In the aftermath of a security or supply chain incident , piecing together what occurred, who was involved, who was affected, and how to prevent a similar attack from taking place again, is one of the biggest challenges facing enterprise security leaders. Metadata (the descriptive text that lies within digital data) proves to be a powerful ally in digital forensics investigations. While this data is generally not visible when viewing or interacting with a file's content, it can also be exploited in its own right, so security leaders and decision-makers must remain vigilant about its accessibility and vulnerability."

"Metadata comprises information that's embedded within files, and the types of data can range from email headers, timestamps, IP addresses and embedded documents, or application properties to a file's last modified dates, user permissions, attributes, size, and location of origin. This hidden and concealable information provides a proverbial digital footprint of a file, providing valuable contextual information about digital data."

"That said, there are some exposure risks if metadata is not properly managed. The same attributes that help investigators reconstruct timelines and verify authenticity can inadvertently leak sensitive organizational intelligence to threat actors when documents are shared externally, perhaps to vendors or proprietary third-party systems that may be inadvertently compromised, unbeknownst to the user."

Metadata provides embedded, descriptive information within digital files that creates a digital footprint useful for reconstructing events and proving authenticity. Metadata types include email headers, timestamps, IP addresses, embedded documents, application properties, modification dates, user permissions, attributes, size, and origin location. Investigators can use metadata to connect evidence, build timelines, and understand user activity to support security hygiene. The same metadata elements can expose sensitive organizational intelligence if they are accessible or shared with vendors and third parties that may be compromised. Operating systems maintain extensive metadata across an organization's underlying architecture and require careful management.

Read at Securitymagazine