Research Challenges and Opportunities in Drone Forensics Models

Arafat Al-Dhaqm,Richard A Ikuesan,Victor R Kebande,Shukor Razak,Fahad M Ghabban

doi:10.3390/electronics10131519

Abstract

The emergence of unmanned aerial vehicles (also referred to as drones) has transformed the digital landscape of surveillance and supply chain logistics, especially in terrains where such was previously deemed unattainable. Moreover, the adoption of drones has further led to the proliferation of diverse drone types and drone-related criminality, which has introduced a myriad of security and forensics-related concerns. As a step towards understanding the state-of-the-art research into these challenges and potential approaches to mitigation, this study provides a detailed review of existing digital forensic models using the Design Science Research method. The outcome of this study generated in-depth knowledge of the research challenges and opportunities through which an effective investigation can be carried out on drone-related incidents. Furthermore, a potential generic investigation model has been proposed. The findings presented in this study are essentially relevant to forensic researchers and practitioners towards a guided methodology for drone-related event investigation. Ultimately, it is important to mention that this study presents a background for the development of international standardization for drone forensics.

Highlights

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)/Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) or drones are small pilotless aircraft that can be controlled remotely
Digital Forensic Framework: Guidelines and frameworks that can help to improve the performance of forensic investigations such as [21,42,45,46] have been explored
The usage of UAVs has significantly increased in the recent past, it is important to highlight that there exists illegal use of UAVs and this has necessitated the exploration of forensic techniques

Summary

Introduction

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)/Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) or drones are small pilotless aircraft that can be controlled remotely. Even though the use of drones had been formerly confined to military purposes and those maintaining enthusiasm for aircraft, in latest years, their civilian usage has grown significantly from military to private sectors, industries and the society at large. Their increasing popularity which is partly fueled by the fact that UAVs are more reasonably priced today is seen by their applications within a broad range of settings, ranging from commercial to government to military, and so on. UAVs have been explored in law enforcement settings (e.g., to patrol and police surveillance) [1,2], search and rescue missions [3], agricultural maintenance, filming, deterring and identification of poaching [1]

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