Abstract
The Sony PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a powerful gaming console that supports Internet-related activities, local file storage and the playing of Blu-ray movies. The PS3 also allows users to partition and install a secondary operating system on the hard drive. This “desktop-like” functionality along with the encryption of the primary hard drive containing the gaming software raises significant issues related to the forensic analysis of PS3 systems. This paper discusses the PS3 architecture and behavior, and provides recommendations for conducting forensic investigations of PS3 systems.
Chapter PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
References
P. Burke and P. Craiger, Xbox forensics, Journal of Digital Forensic Practice, vol. 1(4), pp. 275–282, 2006.
A. Chalk, PlayStation 3 anti-virus software released, The Escapist, November 16, 2007.
S. Conrad, C. Rodriguez, C. Marberry and P. Craiger, Forensic analysis of the Sony PlayStation Portable, in Advances in Digital Forensics V, G. Peterson and S. Shenoi (Eds.), Springer, Heidelberg, Germany, pp. 119–129, 2009.
FileInfo.com, .dat file extension (www.fileinfo.com/extension/dat).
A. Huang, Hacking the Xbox (hackingthexbox.com), 2003.
N. Potter, PlayStation sex crime: Criminal used video game to get girl’s naked pictures, ABCNews.com, New York (abcnews.go.com/Technology/Story?id=7009977&page=1), March 13, 2009.
Seeking Alpha, Seventh generation gaming consoles: Thinking outside the Box (seekingalpha.com/article/22075-seventh-generation-gaming-consoles-thinking-outside-the-box), December 11, 2006.
Sony Computer Entertainment, Install other OS, Foster City, California (manuals.playstation.net/document/en/ps3/current/settings/osinstall.html).
Sony Computer Entertainment, New slimmer and lighter PlayStation 3 to hit worldwide market this September, Foster City, California (www.us.playstation.com/News/PressReleases/525), 2009.
Sony Computer Entertainment, Open platform for PlayStation 3, Foster City, California (www.playstation.com/ps3-openplatform/index.html).
Sony Computer Entertainment, PlayStation 3 80 GB system, Foster City, California (www.us.playstation.com/PS3/Systems/TechSpecs/default.html).
Sony Computer Entertainment, PlayStation 3 system software update, Foster City, California (www.us.playstation.com/Support/SystemUpdates/PS3).
Sony Computer Entertainment, Support: Knowledge Center, Foster City, California (playstation.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/232).
T. Surette, Research firm: 75 million PS3s sold by 2010, GameSpot, CBS Interactive, San Francisco, California (www.gamespot.com/news/6163625.html), January 2, 2007.
TechTips, Five things to know before you modify your Wii, Associated Content, New York (www.associatedcontent.com/article/776395/five_things_to_know_before_you_modify.html?cat=15), May 28, 2008.
B. Turnbull, Forensic investigation of the Nintendo Wii: A first glance, Small Scale Digital Forensics Journal, vol. 2(1), pp. 1–7, 2008.
C. Vaughan, Xbox security issues and forensic recovery methodology (utilizing Linux), Digital Investigation, vol. 1(3), pp. 165–172, 2004.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2010 International Federation for Information Processing
About this paper
Cite this paper
Conrad, S., Dorn, G., Craiger, P. (2010). Forensic Analysis of a PlayStation 3 Console. In: Chow, KP., Shenoi, S. (eds) Advances in Digital Forensics VI. DigitalForensics 2010. IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology, vol 337. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-15506-2_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-15506-2_5
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-15505-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-15506-2
eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)