Cloud computing as a paradigm shift is transforming how services are being delivered. In this chapter, the authors present a Forensics as a Service (FaaS) model using cloud computing to deliver forensic services. This model leverages the flexibility, elasticity, and dynamics of cloud computing, and is affordable for business, government, or individuals in need, due to its reduced cost. It also addresses the challenge of processing a large volume of forensic data by using MapReduce and distributed computing.
TopIntroduction
According to the report by Anderson and Rainie (2010), 71% of interviewed people agreed with the statement:
By 2020, most people won’t do their work with software running on a general-purpose PC. Instead, they will work in Internet-based applications such as Google Docs, and in applications run from Smartphones. Aspiring application developers will develop for Smartphone vendors and companies that provide Internet-based applications, because most innovative work will be done in that domain, instead of designing applications that run on a PC operating system.
This report shows the growing trend of using elastic computing power offered by the Cloud provided as a commodity.
Garfinkel (2010) states that “the growing size of storage devices means that there is frequently insufficient time to create a forensic image of a subject device, or to process all of the data once it is found,” which he has listed as one of the key challenges for computer forensics today. This chapter aims to propose a Forensic as a Service (FaaS) model to address this challenge using the cloud computing infrastructure. Our model of FaaS shows how to use the MapReduce computation model for solving everyday forensics tasks, delivered through the Cloud. Our settings allow the use of public or private clouds to perform these tasks.
In this chapter, we will first briefly discuss MapReduce programming model and Forensics as a Service. We will then present our FaaS model with evaluation and validation, followed by discussions on the security, legal, economic and governmental implications of this proposed model.