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   Smashing up a 3D printed ghost gun won't be enough to prevent CSIs from   
   retrieving data for forensic analysis - here's why   
      
   Date:   
   Mon, 25 Aug 2025 12:03:00 +0000   
      
   Description:   
   Fingerprinting in 3D printing could curb ghost guns, yet raises debates over   
   privacy, regulation, and enforcement on personal printing machines.   
      
   FULL STORY   
      
   The rise of 3D printing has offered new ways to produce tools, spare parts,   
   and even art. Yet its darker use has gained attention through ghost guns.    
      
   These are firearms produced outside regulatory systems, which are difficult    
   to trace and have already been implicated in violent crime, including the    
   2024 killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.    
      
   Thankfully, researchers now believe that even if someone smashes such an   
   object, investigators could still recover valuable forensic information.   
      
   Building a system of hidden fingerprints    
      
   The idea of fingerprinting in 3D printing is not entirely new. Various   
   approaches embed unique information into printed items, often including   
   details like timestamps, printer identification, and geolocation data.    
      
   Until now, a weakness has remained: what happens when a printed object is   
   broken into pieces or deliberately tampered with?    
      
   A team led by Netanel Raviv at Washington University in St. Louis has   
   developed a system designed to withstand such attempts.    
      
   Its framework, named Secure Information Embedding and Extraction (SIDE), uses   
   mathematical methods that allow fragments to retain enough encoded detail for   
   investigators to recover key information.    
      
   The SIDE system is built on earlier work presented at the IEEE International   
   Symposium on Information Theory in 2024, which focused on encoding methods   
   resilient enough to reconstruct data from partial remains.    
      
   By extending those ideas, the current study adds security mechanisms that can   
   require 3D printers to include such fingerprints automatically.    
      
   According to the researchers, SIDE does not just add markings but uses   
   loss-tolerant embedding techniques. This means that even a weapon    
   deliberately broken into pieces may still yield identifiable data during   
   forensic analysis.    
      
   On one hand, fingerprinting techniques could make it harder for illicit   
   weapons to circulate undetected.    
      
   On the other hand, this raises questions about the scope of surveillance,   
   control over personal manufacturing, and the balance between security and   
   privacy.    
      
   A beginner 3D printer used for harmless home projects might soon be subject    
   to the same requirements as industrial machines if regulators decide to   
   mandate such systems.    
      
   While the debate will likely focus on ghost guns, SIDE has potential uses far   
   beyond weapon tracing.    
      
   Any item produced with a 3D printer could, in theory, carry this invisible   
   signature.    
      
   Combined with AI tools for pattern recognition and data recovery,   
   investigators could reconstruct timelines and identities from fragments of   
   plastic or resin.    
      
   "This work opens up new ways to protect the public from the harmful aspects    
   of 3D printing through a combination of mathematical contributions and new   
   security mechanisms," said Netanel Raviv, assistant professor of computer   
   science & engineering in the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington   
   University in St. Louis.    
      
   "While SIDE has limitations in defending against resourceful attackers with   
   strong expertise in 3D printing, it raises the level of sophistication, prior   
   knowledge, and expertise required from the adversary to remain undetected   
   after committing the crime."    
      
   Via Techxplore   
      
   ======================================================================   
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.techradar.com/pro/smashing-up-a-3d-printed-ghost-gun-wont-be-enoug   
   h-to-prevent-csis-from-retrieving-data-for-forensic-analysis-heres-why   
      
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