DV150 Media Authentication and Analysis with Magnet Verify

Course modules

Module 1: Course Introduction & Magnet Verify Installation

In this introductory module, students will be presented with the learning objectives, goals, and all related course materials for the 2-day training event. The module will conclude with a hands-on exercise during which students will install the desktop application of Magnet Verify, as well as learn how to download the desktop client.

Module 2: Bits, Bytes, & Encoders

In this module students will explore the building blocks of data encoding. This will include an introduction into bits and bytes, data conversion from binary to decimal to hexadecimal, and an overview of representation information as it relates to the encoding process. This module will conclude with a hands-on exercise during which students will encode and decode raw data utilizing an ASCII table and rapid tables.

Module 3: Dashboard Overview, Project Creation, & File Submission

This module of instruction will focus on the many features available within the Magnet Verify platform. The students will be given a walkthrough of the dashboard, account and user settings, support functionality, user guide, and additional resources. Students will be shown how to create a Verify project and load files for analysis. The project and file homepages will be briefly discussed.

Module 4: Video Structural Analysis Concepts  

This module covers how to identify and interpret individual objects within the video structure through use of file format specification documents. This module includes an instructor-led exercise of how to parse a video file at the binary level utilizing a hex editor and concludes with a hands-on exercise during which students will identify the individual objects within a video file, outlining the file structure and locating objects that are embedded within other objects.

Module 5: Magnet Verify – Under the Hood

This module will cover content-based and non-content-based analysis, and how Magnet Verify fits within the framework of forensic multimedia analysis. Authentication analysis will be discussed with a focus on comprehensive forensic parsing. Students will also learn about the underlying research into structural analysis, which Magnet Verify is built upon, and the process through which Verify creates file signatures and performs comparative analysis against a known reference library of encoders. This module will conclude with a hands-on exercise during which students will perform a one-to-one manual comparison, using the same methodologies that are utilized by Magnet Verify.

Module 6: Analyzing Verify Results for Video Files

Students will explore the Magnet Verify analysis strategy as it pertains to video files and be introduced to the data interpretation workflow. Structural analysis, embedded file metadata, attribute similarity analysis, structural consistency tests, proprietary and unknown structures, and the interactive viewer will be discussed in terms of video authenticity analysis. This module includes several in-depth instructor-led and student hands-on exercises involving video files.

Module 7: Image Structural Analysis & Concepts

This module covers how JPEG files are encoded and structured, as well as how to identify and interpret individual objects within the structure through use of file format specification documents. This module includes an instructor-led exercise of how to parse an image file at the binary level utilizing a hex editor and concludes with a hands-on exercise during which students will identify the individual objects within an image file and thoroughly parse one of the structures.

Module 8: Analyzing Verify Results for Image Files

Students will explore the Magnet Verify analysis strategy as it pertains to image files. Structural analysis, embedded file metadata, attribute similarity analysis, structural consistency tests, proprietary and unknown structures, and the interactive viewer will be discussed in terms of image authenticity analysis. This module includes several in-depth instructor-led and student hands-on exercises involving JPEG files.

Module 9: Reporting

In this module, students will learn how to scope their examinations, how to produce a report within the Verify platform, and about opinion-based reporting. The proper terminology, as well as various factors which can add weight to expressed opinions, will be covered.

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