Forensics Journal - Stevenson University 2015 | Page 6

STEVENSON UNIVERSITY

Ask the Forensic Expert:
Michael Robinson

or later than what is displayed to the user. As a result, a file can be
hidden and made to look like it was installed a long time ago, e.g.,
when the operating system was originally installed. On the surface,
timestomping may look efficient, but most file systems store dozens
of artifacts associated with each file, and when timestamps
are analyzed across all of this metadata, timestomping typically
stands out.

MICHAEL ROBINSON

Michael Robinson is a computer forensic
examiner and cyber threat analyst for a large
international company. He has performed
computer and cell phone exploitation and
analysis for customers in both the U.S.
Intelligence Community and the private sector.
Michael has performed computer forensic
examinations for the FBI’s Investigative Analysis Unit, where he
assisted special agents with counter-intelligence and criminal cases.
Michael is the former CIO of the U.S. Department of Defense’s
Business Transformation Agency, where he oversaw all information
technology and information assurance operations for the agency,
including overseeing all incident response and forensic investigations.

WHEN I NEED TO DISCARD MY CURRENT SMART PHONE
FOR A NEW ONE, WHAT SHOULD I DO TO ENSURE THAT
MY OLD DATA HAS BEEN DELETED?
When discarding a smartphone, one of the safest ways to ensure
that old user data, such as text messages, call logs, or Internet
history, is deleted is to complete a three-part process. This includes:
1. enabling encryption on the phone, 2. disabling cloud backups,
and then 3. performing a factory reset of the phone. Resetting the
smartphone will delete the encryption key and render the old user
data unrecoverable. For older feature, i.e. dumb phones, the phone
should be physically destroyed to ensure the chips holding data are
non-usable. This may mean destroying more than just the screen and
keyboard, which are often repairable.

Michael is the Program Coordinator and an Adjunct Professor
for Stevenson University’s Master of Science in Cyber Forensics.
At Stevenson, he was the recipient of the Rose Dawson Award
in 2013. He teaches courses in mobile device forensics, intrusion
analysis, and cyber warfare. Michael holds a Bachelor of Science in
Chemical Engineering, a Master of Science in Information Assurance,
a Master of Science in Forensic Studies (concentratin