Forensic Methods for Detecting Image Manipulation -Copy Move

Anthony SutardjaOmar RamadanYan Zhao

Electrical Engineering and Computer SciencesUniversity of California at Berkeley

Technical Report No. UCB/EECS-2015-84http://www.eecs.berkeley.edu/Pubs/TechRpts/2015/EECS-2015-84.html

May 13, 2015

Copyright 2015, by the author(s).All rights reserved.

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Table of Contents For the UC Berkeley Master of Engineering Capstone Project 1. Introduction 2 2. Trends, Market, & Strategy 3 3. Industry 6 4. Intellectual Property Law 12 5. Works Cited 17 6. Appendix 21 7. Individual Technical Contribution - Anthony 25 8. Individual Concluding Reflection - Anthony 42

Forensic Methods for Image Manipulation Detection 1

Introduction Problem Statement Forthepastcentury,photographshaveservedasreliableprimarysourcesofevidence,butthatis

quicklychanging.Photomanipulationtoolshavebecomewidespreadanditiseasytomanipulate

images.PhotomanipulationstoolssuchasAdobePhotoShopaffordgreaterartisticexpression,and

enableuserstocreatemanipulationsthatchallengethelimitsofournaturalperception.Thedifference

betweenauthenticandmanipulatedphotoshasbecomehardertodistinguish,andcanonlybedetected

bydigitalforensicexperts.Theimageforensicscapstoneprojectaimstocreateanonlinesoftware

servicethatperformstheworkofforensicanalysts,andvisualizesandanalyzesthepossible

manipulationsthatmayhavebeenperformedonanimage.Ourgoalistoempoweranybodytoperform

imageforensicanalysis,andhelpincreaseourfaithindigitalcontent.

Ourcapstonehascompletedaprototypeofthisimagemanipulationdetectionwebservicethathelpsa

useridentifyfraudulentfeatureswithinanimage.Althoughfullyfunctional,ourserviceisnotyetready

forcommercializationasmanyofthetechniquesarestillunderresearch.Inthefollowingsections,we

performamarket,industry,andintellectualpropertyanalysisonhowwewouldhypotheticallytakeour

onlinesoftwareservicetomarket.

Forensic Methods for Image Manipulation Detection 2

Trends, Market, and Strategy Trends Therearestrongtechnologicalandregulatorytrendsthatrevealagrowingneedforeffectiveimage

forensicssolutions.Smartphonesandthecamerasembeddedwithinthemhaverapidlybecomethemost

popularmethodofphotocapture.AccordingtothePewResearchCenter,thepercentageofU.S.adults

whoownsmartphonesjumpedfrom35%in2011to56%in2013(Smith,SmartphoneOwnership

2013).Thisrelentlessgrowthinsmartphoneadoptionwillcontinue,especiallyinregionsoutsideof

theUnitedStates(Dulaney5).Morepeoplehavetheabilitytotakedigitalphotos,asseventysix

percentofsmartphoneuserssaytheyusethesmartphonescamerastotakephotos(Smith,Mobile

Access2010).Thisinstantandconvenientphotosnappingabilityisbecomingrecognizedbymany

institutionsasawayofdocumentingincidentsandfilingclaims(HowtoDocumentAutoAccident

Damage.)(Thomson3).However,asweincreaseourrelianceondigitalphotography,webecome

susceptibletofraud.Digitalimageeditingsoftwareiseasytoobtainandisgrowinginutilizationas

well(Kahn9).Withthegrowingtrendinsmartphoneadoptionandtheriseinaccesstoimageediting

software,digitallymanipulatedimageswillbecomecommonplace.

Duetothegrowingtrendofdigitalimagedocumentation,theregulatorylandscapeisalsochanging

withnewcourtprecedentsthatarebeginningtorequireverifyingtheauthenticityofdigitalimages.In

Israel,anewlawmakesitillegaltouseimagesinadvertisementsthathavebeenretouchedtomake

modelslookthinnerwithoutprintingadisclosureonthepicture(PictureImperfect).IntheUnited

States,theFederalRulesofEvidencenowrequiretheauthenticationofdigitalimagesbeforetheyare

usedasevidenceincourt(Thomson3).Thegrowingtrendinregulatorymeasuresforverifyingdigital

imageswillonlycontinuetopushtheneedforimageforensicsservice.

Hence,identifyingthesetrendshashelpedusrealizethecustomersoftheimageforensicsindustry.In

journalism,weseetheneedtoverifydigitalimagesforjournalisticintegrity.Inthecourtroom,wesee

theneedtoverifydigitalimagestoestablishevidentiaryauthenticity.Ininsurance,weseetheneedto

identifyfraudulentdigitalinsuranceclaims.Asmoreservicesbegintorelyondigitaldocumentation,

theneedforsuchmediaverificationserviceswillincrease.

Forensic Methods for Image Manipulation Detection 3

Market Potential Markets Thereareseveralmarketsinwhichanimageforensicssolutionisgreatlyneeded.

Ourtechnologyhasseriousimplicationsforthepressimagemarket.Theexplodinggrowthofthe

Internetanddigitalcontenthasempoweredcitizenjournalismandtransformedthepressindustrywith

exclusiverichmediacollections.Withthisgrowth,presscompaniesnowhavetheadditionalchallenge

ofmaintainingtheircredibilitybyvalidatingmediafromnewunverifiedsources.Photoeditorsatsuch

institutionsworktoensurethatonlygenuinephotosarepublished,butwithadvancededitingtools,

evenanexperiencedanalystcanfailtoidentifyimagemanipulations.The$32billiondollarnewspaper

industrytakesphotomanipulationasaseriousthreatbecauseofthedamageitbringstotheircredibility

(McKenna).Theirzerotolerancepolicytowardsphotomanipulationfrequentlyresultsinhundredsof

thousandsofdollarsinlosseseachmanipulatedphotoisissuedamandatorykillthatalertsall

affectedcustomerstocontroldamages(Lum).Theinvolvedphotographersareusuallyterminatedsuch

asinthecaseofGettyfreelancerMarcFeldman(Lum),L.ATimesstaffphotographerColinCrawford

(Irby),orReutersfreelancerAdnanHajj(AlteredImagesPromptPhotographersFiring).

Anotherpotentialmarketresidesinthecourtoflaw.Admittingmanipulatedphotographicevidencein

courtisbothagrowingtrendandagrowingconcern.Perjuryisnotuncommon,andpoliceofficersare

estimatedtocommitperjurytwentytofiftypercentofthetimeonfourthamendmentissues(Slobogin).

Lawyersalsocommitperjury,andevengoodlawyersandareuntruthfulintheirprofession.Asit

stands,theauthenticityofphotographsiscontingentonthehonestyofthewitnesses.Animage

forensicsexpertisonlycalleduponwhentherearenowitnessestotestifyinalawsuitorwhenthe

photographicevidencehasitsintegritychallenged(Kashi).Otherwise,thereisnostandardprocedureto

havethephotoevidencethoroughlyvetted.The$400billiondollarlegalindustryneedsabetterwayto

admitphotographicevidenceinacourtoflawthatismorerobustthanasingletestamentofthetruth

(Novet).Weseeourimageforensicsoftwareasanopportunitytochangethewayphotoevidenceis

processed.

Forensic Methods for Image Manipulation Detection 4

Segmented Market Entry Thelastmarketthatwehaveidentifiediswithinsurancecompanies.Ourcapstoneteamhasdecidedto

focusoncateringourimageforensicssoftwareservicetowardstheinsurancesegmentduetothegreat

valuewewillprovidetoinsurancecompanies.Thisvaluestemsfromthemajorlossesinsurance

companiesfaceduetofraudulentclaims.Whiledigitallydocumentedphotographyanddocumentation

hasmadeitmorecosteffectivefortheinsuranceindustrytosurveydamages,ithasexposedthemto

significantlosses.Thisshifttowardsdigitalevidencehasmadeiteasiertotamperwithphotographsto

exaggerateorfabricateinsuranceclaims.Onestudyfoundthatoneinsevenhundredgeneralinsurance

claimshasbeendigitallyaltered,andoneinseventyfivepropertydamageinsuranceclaimshasbeen

digitallyaltered(PictureImperfect).Thesedigitallyalteredinsuranceclaimsaccountforasignificant

portionofthe$40billiondollarslostbytheinsuranceindustryeveryyearintheUnitedStates(FBI).

Thesemonumentallossesindicatethatinsurancecompanieshavestrongneedsforinnovativewaysto

combatfraudulentclaims.Ourimageforensicssoftwareseekstoaddressthisproblembyhelping

insurancecompaniesidentifyfraudulentclaimsaccurately,andinacosteffectivemanner.

Marketing Strategy Product Thedetectionofmanipulatedimagesisanimportantproblemthatrequirestheconsultationofhighly

specializedforensicexperts.Giventhegrowingnatureofthisproblem,weproposeaservicethatputs

theanalyticalpowerofimageforensicmethodsinthehandsofthecommonuser.Wegeneratedetailed

reportsthatcanbeinterpretedbynonexperts,effectivelyallowinglowerlevelanalyststocreatemore

valuewhilerelievingtheworkloadsofbusyforensicexperts.

Ourproductincreasesthecapacityofanalystsitprovidesthemwithforensicinformationthathelps

themmakeinformeddecisionswhenevaluatingclaims.Whileimagessubmittedwithaclaimareonlya

portionoftheevidencethatanalystsusetobasetheirdecisions,theinformationweprovidehelpsthem

identifyandflagsuspiciousclaimsforfurtherreview,ultimatelyenablingthemtopreventmorefraud.

Forensic Methods for Image Manipulation Detection 5

Value Guarantee Thelargestriskforourcustomersisanegativereturnoninvestment,inthatthecostofourplatformis

notexceededbythevalueoffraudthatwestop.Toreducethisrisk,andpromotethesaleofour

service,ourstrategyistominimizethesoftwareacquisitionrisksforourcustomers.Wecanreducethe

switchingcostsbysupplyingourownforwarddeployedengineerstointegratewithourcustomers

softwarestacksandourownsupportteamtoprovidetrainingservices.Furthermore,withefficiencyour

serviceoffersanditseffectivenessincombatingfraud,wecanofferaguaranteedreturnoninvestment. Customer Outreach Customeracquisitionisthelargestchallengethatwewillface.Giventhebusinesstobusinessnatureof

ourbusinessmodelandthatcustomersarelikelytohavealargebureaucracywithseveraldecision

makers,oursalestimelinewilllikelytakemonths.Togenerateleads,weplantoattenddigital