Forensic analysis of popular UAV systems

Abstract

Recent technological advancements have made drones, also known as UAVs (Unmanned Air Vehicles), more accessible to the public, causing an increase in their popularity. The potential applications of drones range from simple leisure and recreational purposes to photography, transport, surveying, security, the list goes on. With the increase in demand and subsequent availability, there has also been a rise in drones used in crime. This creates a need for forensic analysis into devices used for drones. Due to the use of custom electronic flight systems within different drone devices, to date appropriate forensic tools have not been developed. This paper covers the use of open source tools and the development of some basic scripts to aid forensic analysis of two popular drones - the DJI Phantom 3 Professional and AR Drone 2 with the aim of reconstructing the actions taken by these drones, identification of owners or operators, and extraction of data from associated mobile devices. While different UAV systems can vary in their operations owing to their capabilities, some generic methods will be used in analysis and extraction of the data and then results will be compared between models.