DFRWS Conference

DFRWS conferences feature thought provoking Keynote Speakers, hands-on workshops, cutting edge research papers, presentations, panel discussions, demonstrations and poster sessions accompanied by a full schedule of social events including a Welcome Reception, the DFRWS Digital Forensics Rodeo and an expedition. All presentations take place in-person but virtual registrations will be available for those who are not able to attend the conference in person but wish to participate in this historic event.

The DFRWS USA 2025 Conference will be held Tuesday, July 22 through Friday, July 25 as a hybrid event in Chicago, Illinois, USA. The Women in Forensic Computing Workshop (WinFC) is tentatively planned on July 21st as co-located event.

Conference Location:

Levan Center, DePaul University, 2322 North Kenmore Avenue, Chicago, IL 60614​

July 22, 2025 to July 25, 2025

DePaul University Campus in Chicago

DFRWS USA 2025 will mark the 25th Anniversary of the Digital Forensics Research Conference and will be held in cooperation with DePaul University at the Levan Center on DePaul’s Lincoln Park Campus in Chicago, Illinois. Chicago, one of the most vibrant cities in the USA, is renowned for its excellent universities, architecture, industry, local cuisine, museums, parks and entertainment. Lincoln Park is considered to be one of the most charming neighborhoods in the city, featuring tree lined streets, original brownstones, local stores and coffee shops, it is situated just north of the gleaming downtown metropolis.

Transportation

Chicago is an extremely well-connected transportation hub by air and rail making it easy to reach for national and international travelers alike. The city also boasts an excellent metro transit system, taxi and ride sharing options. The Fullerton Hall Metro Stop is approximately two blocks from the Levan Center and is served by the Red, Brown and Purple lines.

Accomodations

There is a wide array of accommodation available to choose from based on each individual’s taste and budget. Stay tuned for specific hotel recommendations.

Last year’s event

DFRWS USA is more than just the premier digital forensics research conference; it’s a place to make friends, forge impactful research and industry collaborations, and come up with novel ideas that push the field forward, all while creating memorable experiences!

Participation

DFRWS invites contributions in the categories listed below. The submission details are listed below under SUBMISSION INFORMATION.

Full Research Papers

FULL RESEARCH PAPERS undergo double-blinded peer review, and the proceedings are published by Elsevier as a special issue of the Journal of Forensic Science International: Digital Investigation. We ask to submit articles according to the submission instructions.

Systematization of Knowledge (SoK)

As this marks the 25th occurrence of the conference, a substantial body of knowledge has been published through this platform over the years. Therefore, starting from this year, we solicit Systematization of Knowledge (SoK) papers that systematize, contextualize and evaluate existing knowledge of digital forensics. A suitable SoK paper needs to provide unique insights, such as a new viewpoint, a comprehensive taxonomy, and new evidence in supporting or challenging long-held beliefs. A survey paper without such insights is not appropriate and may be rejected without full review. A SoK paper submission needs to have the prefix “SoK: ” in the title, and select the checkbox in the submission form. Accepted SoK papers will be presented at the conference and included in the proceedings.

Presentations and Demos

PRESENTATIONS & DEMOS require a brief proposal (about 500 words, not a full research paper). These proposals undergo a light review process to select presentations of maximal interest to DFRWS attendees and to filter out sales pitches. Accepted proposals will be given a presentation slot (approx. 15 minutes) during the conference. Note that the presentation/demo will not be part of the published proceedings.

Posters

POSTERS allow for the presentation of current research efforts and the discussion of preliminary results with the Digital Forensics Community. Consequently, posters can include early results, a brief demonstration of a prototype, or can outline research ideas. Posters will be available on the website, and authors have the opportunity to present during breaks to receive feedback from the community. Note that posters will not be part of the published proceedings.

Workshops and Tutorials

WORKSHOPS & TUTORIALS can be 2 to 4 hours (please indicate) and ideally include hands-on participation by attendees, allowing for an in-depth, detailed exploration of tools and techniques of interest to DFRWS attendees. Workshops can cover state-of-the-art research projects, useful tips and techniques for standard tools, or almost anything that DFRWS attendees would consider beneficial. While commercial tools can be used, these workshops should NOT be thinly veiled commercial advertisements.

Note: DFRWS will provide one free conference registration for each workshop accepted.

Panel Proposals

PANEL PROPOSALS should be one to three pages long and clearly describe the topic, its relevance, and a list of potential panelists, including their biographies (short). Panels will be
evaluated based on the topic relevance and diversity of the panelists.

Submission Information

We ask you to submit all contributions via EasyChair and select the appropriate track during submission. Please make sure to follow the submission guidelines on the website. Organizers may reject work that does not follow the listed criteria.

Easychair submission: https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=dfrwsusa2025

Please Note:
• Accepted papers, presentations, demos and poster submissions will require at least one author to register to attend and present in-person.
• Full Research Papers require a Full Registration.

Venue

The DFRWS USA organizing committee is currently planning the conference as a hybrid event, where attendees can attend virtually (via Zoom) or physically in DePaul University, Chicago. Note that this may change according to government regulations. Regardless of how you participate, the program will include Keynotes, Papers and Presentations, Hands-on Workshops, Poster and Demo Sessions, the Forensics Rodeo, Interactive Birds of a Feather Sessions, Lightning Talks, and, of course, Social Events.

Student Scholarship and Award Program

DFRWS continues its outreach to students studying digital forensics. DFRWS and its sponsors will award scholarships each year to students (first authors) who present their accepted research papers. One scholarship will be awarded to the Best Student Research Paper awardee. More scholarships may be awarded, depending on sponsorship funding each year. Exact award amounts will vary but usually cover at least registration expenses for a future conference. DFRWS will notify the recipient of the Best Student Research Paper award on or before the conference registration deadline. Other awards (e.g., industry-sponsored awards for research in specific topic areas) may be awarded after the registration deadline and are entirely contingent on scholarship sponsorship by industry each year. Refer to the website for further details regarding eligibility, funding, and selection (Student Scholarship & Award Program).

Contact Information

For questions related to participation (e.g., research papers, presentations, etc.), please send an email to: usa-papers (at) dfrws (dot) org

For general questions about DFRWS USA, please send an email to: usa (at) dfrws (dot) org

Deadlines

We kindly ask first to register and submit the title, abstract, and author information. The full paper is then due one week later. Note that there will be two rounds of reviews; the first round is early rejections after receiving initial reviews. The papers qualifying for the second round will receive additional reviews for the final decision.

Please take a look at the DEADLINES section below for specific dates.

Topics of Interest

The Digital Forensics Research Workshop (DFRWS) USA 2025 marks the 25th anniversary of one of the most influential conferences in the field of digital forensics. Since its inception, DFRWS has been a pivotal platform for advancing the science and practice of digital forensics, bringing together researchers, practitioners, and industry leaders from around the globe. Over the past quarter-century, the workshop has been instrumental in the development of cutting-edge technologies and forensic methodologies that have become essential tools in the fight against cybercrime. From pioneering techniques in digital evidence recovery and analysis to fostering innovations in mobile device forensics, memory forensics, and the emerging challenges posed by cloud computing and Internet of Things (IoT) devices, DFRWS has consistently been at the forefront of digital forensic science. The 2025 edition will celebrate these achievements while setting the stage for the future of forensic research and its vital role in securing the digital world.

DFRWS welcomes new perspectives that push the envelope of what is currently possible in digital forensics. Potential topics to be addressed by submissions include, but are not limited to:

  • Machine learning and data mining for digital evidence extraction/query
  • Malware and targeted attacks (analysis and attribution)
  • Forensics analysis and visualization of Big Data
  • Non-traditional forensic scenarios/contexts
  • Network and distributed system forensics
  • Mobile and embedded device forensics
  • Cloud and virtualized environments
  • Vehicle forensics (e.g., drones, cars)
  • SCADA / industrial control systems
  • Covert channels (e.g., TOR, VPN)
  • Additive manufacturing / 3D printers
  • Medical devices
  • Smart power grids
  • Smart buildings
  • Virtual currency
  • Digital forensic preparedness/readiness
  • Digital investigation case management
  • Digital evidence sharing and exchange
  • Digital forensic triage/survey
  • Digital forensic tool validation
  • Event reconstruction methods and tools
  • Digital evidence sharing and exchange
  • Digital forensic triage/survey
  • Digital forensic tool validation
  • Event reconstruction methods and tools
  • Digital evidence and the law
  • Case studies and trend reports
  • Anti-forensics and anti-anti-forensics
  • AI forensics
  • HCI’s intersection with digital forensics
  • Use of LLMs in digital forensics
  • Memory forensics

Click Here For Proposal Requirements

Deadlines

DateEvent
January 20, 2025 Full research papers: Paper Submission Deadline of Abstract & Title
January 27, 2025 Full research papers: Submission update (paper upload)
March 3, 2025 Full research papers: Early rejection
March 24, 2025 Full research papers: Author Rebuttal
April 2, 2025 Full research papers: Notification of acceptance
April 20, 2025 Full research papers: Camera Ready Paper Submission and Presenter Registration
March 31, 2025 Panel Proposals, Workshop, Tutorial, Presentations, Demos: Submission
March 31, 2025 Panel Proposals, Workshop, Tutorial, Presentations, Demos: Notification (will be sent on a rolling basis)
April 28, 2025 Posters: Submission (no DOI / abstract publication)
May 20, 2025 Posters: Notification (Round 1)
June 10, 2025 Birds of a Feather: Submission (no DOI / abstract publication)

Committees

Organizing Committee

Conference Chair

Ibrahim Baggili

Conference Vice Chair

Alexander Rasin

Local Chair

Alexander Rasin

Social Chair

TBD

Chief Organizational Officer (C.O.O.)

Daryl Pfeif

Secretary

Alex Nelson

Technical Program Chair

Heng Yin

Technical Program Vice Chair

Farkhund Iqbal

Workshop Chair

Cesar Vargas

Workshop Vice Chair

Ali Hadi

Presentation Chair

Cheche Agada

Demo and Poster Chair

Farkhund Iqbal

Demo and Poster Vice Chair

Gokila Dorai

Awards Chair

Cheche Agada

Rodeo Chair

Madi Brumbelow

Rodeo Vice Chair

Michèle Gilles

Sponsorship Chair

Cory Hall

Proceeding Co-Chair

Parag Rughani

Proceeding Co-Chair

Hany Atlam

Proceeding Vice Chair

George Grispos

Programing Chair

TBD

Academic Outreach Chair

Adeen Ayub

Industry Outreach Chair

Stephen Villere

Web Chair

Bhargav Rathod

Web Vice Chair

Sebastian Weigmann

Platform Chair

TBD

Platform Vice Chair

TBD

Lightning Talks and BoF Chair

Yong Guan

Recording Chair

TBD

Virtual Participation and Satelite Site Chair

TBD

Social Media and Communications Chair

TBD

Registration Chair

TBD

Keynote Chair

Umit Karabiyik

Student Conferenceships Chair

Irfan Ahmed

Member at large

Wietse Venema, Raphaela Mettig, Frank Adelstein, Kevin Fairbanks, Umit Karabiyik, Yong Guan, Shiva Houshmand, Rima Asmar Awad, Syed Ali Qasim, Atefeh Mohseni, Alexandru Iulian Orhean, Karan Dwivedi, Zhenxiao Qi

Technical Program Committee

Frank Adelstein, Ph.D.

NFA Digital, LLC

Cheche Agada, Ph.D.

George Mason University

Rima Asmar, Ph.D.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Hany Atlam, Ph.D.

University of Warwick

Stefan Axelsson, Ph.D.

Stockholm University

Ibrahim Baggili, Ph.D.

Louisiana State University

Davide Balzarotti

Eurecom

Rainer Böhme, Ph.D.

Universität Innsbruck, Austria

Frank Breitinger, Ph.D.

University of Lausanne

William Buchanan

Edinburgh Napier University

Florian Buchholz, Ph.D.

James Madison University

Andrew Case

Volexity

Nathan Clarke

Centre for Security, Communication & Network Research, University of Plymouth

Rinku Dewri, Ph.D.

University of Denver

Gokila Dorai, Ph.D.

Augusta University

Sharee Dorsey

Cleveland Clinic

Karan Dwivedi

Google

Katrin Franke

NTNU, Norway

Paul Giura

AT&T Security Research Center

George Grispos, Ph.D.

University of Nebraska at Omaha

Yong Guan, Ph.D.

Iowa State University

Mark Guido

The MITRE Corporation

Deepti Gupta

Texas A&M University

Ali Hadi, Ph.D.

The American University in Cairo

Ragib Hasan

University of Alabama at Birmingham

Shiva Houshmand, Ph.D.

Santa Clara University

Farkhund Iqbal, Ph.D.

Zayed University

Wooyeon Jo, Ph.D.

Virginia Commonwealth University

Umit Karabiyik, Ph.D.

Purdue University

Katharina Krombholz

CISPA

Changhoon Lee

Seoul National University of Science and Technology

Sangjin Lee

Korea University

Tamas Lengyel, Ph.D.

Intel

Michael Losavio

University of Louisville

Khalid Malik

University of Michigan

Atefeh Mohseni Ejiyeh

University of California, Santa Barbara

Alex Nelson, Ph.D.

National Institute of Standards and Technology

Bashar Nuseibeh

The Open University, United Kingdom & Lero, Ireland

Martin Olivier

Computer Science, University of Pretoria

Yin Pan, Ph.D.

Rochester Institute of Technology

Gaston Pugliese

Friedrich-Alexander-Universität, Germany

Syed Ali Qasim, Ph.D.

Grand Valley State University

Tu-Thach Quach, Ph.D.

Sandia National Labs

Muhammad Haris Rais, Ph.D.

Virginia State University

Bhargav Rathod

Salesforce

Huw Read, Ph.D.

Norwich University

Golden Richard, Ph.D.

Louisiana State University

Christian Riess

Friedrich-Alexander-Universität, Germany

Vassil Roussev, Ph.D.

University of New Orleans

Neil C Rowe, Ph.D.

U.S. Naval Postgraduate School

Parag Rughani, Ph.D.

National Forensic Sciences University, India

Brendan Saltaformaggio, Ph.D.

Georgia Institute of Technology

Mark Scanlon, Ph.D.

University College Dublin

Taeshik Shon, Ph.D.

Ajou University

Jill Slay

University of South Australia

Drew Stelly

University of New Orleans

Wietse Venema, Ph.D.

Stephen Villere

Cellebrite

James Wagner, Ph.D.

University of New Orleans

Heng Yin

University of California, Riverside

Xiaolu Zhang, Ph.D.

The University of Texas at San Antonio