Semester of Graduation

Spring 2025

Degree

Master of Science in Computer Science (MSCS)

Department

Division of Computer Science and Engineering

Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

The recovery of fragmented MP3 files is a problem of major importance in digital forensics. If the file system on a storage device has their metadata corrupted or deleted and MP3 files have undergone fragmentation, as is common in file systems, there must be some way to recover them. Recovery of fragmented MP3 files is an incredibly challenging endeavor due to multiple obstacles. The MP3 file format has no header or footer, and is composed of individual, independent frames (with some exception) [12] [13]. These frames have no ordering information and a file reconstructed with frames out of order is often recognized by media players as valid and playable. This means the file format is not enough to accurately reconstruct the file, and in this work, we seek to take the uncompressed audio data into consideration. This research works closely with Dr. Golden Richard’s file carving project Scalpel3 [8]. MP3 file recovery methods explored here include the utilization of frame offsets, calculating and comparing CRC checksums if present and applicable, and comparing MDCT coefficient peaks. The results of this thesis demonstrate the effectiveness of the MP3 defragmentation process, and direction is given for those who seek to further refine the process.

Date

4-3-2025

Committee Chair

Golden G. Richard

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Available for download on Monday, April 03, 2028

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