Future Generation Computer Systems 122 (2021) 209–219

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Future Generation Computer Systems

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/fgcs

A variable scale case-based reasoning method for evidence location in

digital forensics✩
∗
Ai Wang a , Xuedong Gao b ,
a
School of Humanities and Social Science, University of Science and Technology Beijing, No.30 Xueyuan Road, Beijing, 100083, China
b
School of Economics and Management, University of Science and Technology Beijing, No.30 Xueyuan Road, Beijing, 100083, China

article info a b s t r a c t

Article history: With the increasing usage of information technology on the criminal side, the digital forensic analysis,
Received 6 May 2020 especially multimedia forensics, becomes an emerging technique for cybercrime investigators to
Received in revised form 12 March 2021 improve examination efficiency. The study focuses on the digital triage problem for evidence location
Accepted 17 March 2021
during the automatic forensic process. After defining the multi-scale knowledge base for storing
Available online 21 April 2021
digital forensic investigators’ prior knowledge, a variable scale case-based reasoning method (VSCBR)
Keywords: is proposed to support investigators predicting evidential areas. The variable-scale clustering algorithm
Digital forensics based on the scale transformation strategy (VSC-STS) is also put forward, which could identify highly
Scale transformation similar past cases containing candidate evidence in the case reuse and revise phase. A case study is
Variable-scale clustering established using a real 15.9 GB bidding case dataset, which contains both text bidding documents and
Case-based reasoning image technical drawings. Numerical experimental results show that the validation of the proposed
VSC-STS is significantly improved compared with the traditional single-scale clustering algorithm, and
it is insensitive to the initial parameter threshold. Moreover, the proposed method VSCBR is able to
help investigators locate suspicious rule-violating evidences in practice.
© 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction areas on a target device through automatically analyzing investi-

Traditional human dependent forensic approaches could not
meet the requirement of today’s sophisticated cybercrime in-
vestigation. Consequently, advanced digital forensic techniques
have gained great significance on collecting, locating, and even
identifying investigation-supported evidences [1].
In order to accelerate the automatic forensic process, digital
triage modules have been widely utilized in forensic software [2].
For instance, EnCase Portable, as a powerful device triage so-
lution, allows forensic professionals and non-experts alike to
recover data following the file type, such as images, documents,
and even emails [3]. However, this digital triage approach driven
by preset file categories might suffer from low efficiency when a
large number of files, that having the same type with the evidence
file, are maintained on one target computer.
Horsman et al. [4] proposes a digital forensic method for
device triage using the case-based reasoning framework (CBR-FT).
The CBR-FT could improve the efficiency of locating suspicious
✩ This document is the results of the research project funded by the National
Natural Science Foundation of China [71272161] and China Scholarship Council.
∗ Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: ai.wang@uta.edu (A. Wang),
gaoxuedong@manage.ustb.edu.cn (X. Gao).
gators’ prior knowledge. And only files stored in that area would
be targeted as candidate evidence for criminal behaviors like
fraud offenses, waiting for further examination. Compared to the
file type focused approach, this file location focused approach has
advantages on avoiding gathering large amount of non-relevant
data. Besides, the CBR-FT is also not sensitive to the modification
of digital content.
Although the case-based reasoning method has been proven
to be effective in digital forensics, especially digital triage, there
is still existing the time varying problem in the case learning
phase that heavily affects the accuracy of forensic results [4]. For
instance, the traditional CBR-FT knowledge base is established
under a fixed time period (single scale), which is inability to keep
up with criminal cyber activities that changing over time.
The multi-scale data theory considers that, each object can
obtain multiple values of different scales under each attribute [5].
These attribute values follow the information transformation re-
lation between scale levels, and could divide the global objects
into several granules through certain partition principle, e.g. in-
distinguishability, similarity, etc. [6,7]. Therefore, how to obtain
the scale hierarchical structure of the initial object dataset with
clear scale characteristics has become one of the main tasks of
multi-scale data analysis [8].
The variable-scale clustering method (VSC) is just to study
how to obtain object classes with clear scale characteristics by

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.future.2021.03.019
0167-739X/© 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
A. Wang and X. Gao Future Generation Computer Systems 122 (2021) 209–219

changing the observation scale of objects [9]. Hence, after con-

structing the multi-scale data model, the VSC could automati-
cally obtain the optimal observation scale with clear manage-
ment objectives, as well as the management objects with scale
characteristics that responsible for each level.
Thus, this paper aims to solve the digital triage problem for
locating evidence during the automatic forensic process. The main
contributions are as follows. Firstly, the structure of the multi-
scale knowledge base is established following the multi-scale
data model. Compared to the traditional CBR knowledge base, the
multi-scale knowledge base could solve the time varying problem
through increasing multiple scales (like temporal scale) of every
case attribute.
Secondly, the optimistic scale transformation strategy (OSTS)
and the pessimistic scale transformation strategy (PSTS) are pro-
posed to optimize the attribute selection in the scale transfor-
mation process. Especially for the multiple attribute scale trans-
formation problem, the scale transformation strategy and mech- Fig. 1. The case-based reasoning mechanism.
anism could clarify the scale transformation sequence and direc-
tion.
Thirdly, a variable scale clustering algorithm based on the authenticity of videos, which fully considers the features pattern
scale transformation strategy (VSC-STS) is proposed to overcome of current multimedia platforms.
the uncertainty caused by the random attribute selection in the Another research direction supporting digital evidence inves-
VSC. Experimental results illustrate that the validation of the tigation is to speed up and optimize the digital triage process.
proposed VSC-STS is significantly improved compared with the Hence, this paper studies the digital evidence location problem
traditional single-scale clustering algorithm, and it is insensitive using advanced machine learning algorithms.
to the initial parameter threshold.
Finally, after defining the multi-scale case similarity mea- 2.2. Case-based reasoning mechanism
surement, a variable scale case-based reasoning method (VSCBR)
is proposed to support investigators predicting evidential areas. The case based reasoning methodology (CBR) aims to solve
A case study is established using a real 15.9 GB bidding case new problems through previous valuable knowledge and expe-
dataset, which contains both text bidding documents and image rience to improve the accuracy and efficiency, which has been
technical drawings. Experimental results illustrates that the pro- wildly applied in various fields, such as assessing the throm-
posed method VSCBR is able to help investigators locate likely bophilia predisposition risk in the health care industry [17].
rule-violating evidences in practice. The case-based reasoning mechanism consists of five phases
The structure of this paper is as follows. Section 2 summarizes (see Fig. 1): Case Retrieve, case reuse, case revise, case retain and
the relevant research work, including the digital forensics in case learning (or case-base maintenance) [18].
cybercrime, case-based reasoning mechanism and variable-scale (1) Case Retrieve. The objective of Case Retrieve phase is
data analysis. Section 3 firstly defines the structure of multi-scale to identify past cases in the knowledge base that have similar
knowledge base, and then proposes the variable-scale clustering
characteristics with the new problem. The prior experience of
method based on the scale transformation strategy (VSC-STS). The
past cases could be applied for the solution of the new problem.
variable scale case-based method (VSCBR) is also put forward
(2) Case Reuse. According to the results of Case Retrieve phase,
using the VSC-STS. Experimental procedures and analysis results
if similar past cases are retrieved successfully, the case reuse
of a real 15.9 GB bidding dataset are discussed in Section 4. And
phase will directly output all the potential solutions within those
the paper is concluded in Section 5.
cases for the new problem.
(3) Case Revise. According to the results of Case Retrieve
2. Related works
phase, if there is no similar past cases to the new problem, then
2.1. Digital forensics in cybercrime the case revise phase will start to correct a certain or some
historical solution, and output the verified solution.
The rapid development of computer technology, especially (4) Case Retain. After the case reuse and revise phases, the
digitization related techniques, witnesses the increase of cyber- structural new case, that contains not only the new problem,
crimes worldwide [10]. The abuse of intelligent devices like smart but also the final solution, will be established and saved into the
phones could not only commit crime, but also bring troubles for knowledge base for the next query.
forensic investigation [11]. (5) Case Learning. After the case retain phase, the case learn-
Academic institutions and industrial departments have paid ing mechanism and methods will maintain the knowledge base
attention on automatic digital forensic techniques to prevent through evaluating the quality of the new solution, and update
cybercrimes [12]. And how to collect, preserve and analyze digital relevant information for the next query.
evidence becomes one of the most critical tasks for investigate Compared to the traditional CBR framework, this paper pro-
criminal activities [13]. poses the multi-scale knowledge base model to solve the time
One of the mainstream directions is to study how to iden- varying problem of criminal behaviors for digital forensics.
tify and distinguish whether the digital evidence is original or
modified by criminals [14]. And the digital multimedia contents, 2.3. Variable-scale data analysis
especially video and image, gain more research significance due
to the high evidential value in the judicial process [15]. With the wide accumulation of business data in different
For instance, Quinto et al. [16] proposes technical solution for industries and the rapid development of multivariate data anal-
digital evidence identification through detecting the integrity and ysis tools, a standardized application process methodology has
210
A. Wang and X. Gao
been gradually formed in the application of data mining technol-
ogy, that is the cross-industry standard process for data mining
(CRISP-DM) [19–21]. According to the life cycle of the data min-
ing project, the CRISP-DM divides the application process of the
data mining technology into six stages: business understanding,
data understanding, data preparation, modeling, evaluation and
deployment [22,23].
The data preparation, modeling and evaluation stages con-
stitute the execution process of the data mining project [24].
Data preparation contains all the activities that form the final
data set from the original data, such as attribute selection, data
transformation, and cleaning of the data set [25]. The objective
of modeling stage is to develop the data mining algorithm that
meets the implementation conditions, and optimize the algo-
rithm parameters according to the characteristics of datasets
and mining tasks [26]. The objective of the evaluation stage is
to verify whether the model results have reached the business
demands [27].
The variable scale data analysis technology (like the variable-
scale clustering method, VSC) studies the automatic mechanism
of the execution process of the data mining project (i.e., data
preparation, modeling and evaluation stage), through modeling
the scale transformation characteristics of human thinking activ-
ities, which could be applied for the intelligent decision-making
process under various business scenarios [28–30].
The scale transformation theory, that is the theoretical basis of
the variable-scale clustering, consists of the concept space model
(CS) for describing the relations between different scales, the
scale transformation rate measurement (STR) for controlling the
scale transformation process, the granular deviation index (GrD)
for evaluating the satisfaction degree of VSC results, as well as the
depth and width scale transformation mode.
Table 1 shows the research summary of the scale transfor-
mation theory. Compared to the previous research work, the
proposed method VSC-STS (see Section 3) mainly focuses on the
optimistic and pessimistic scale transformation strategy problem,
in order to improve the scale transformation efficiency.
3. Variable scale case-based reasoning method for digital
forensics
3.1. Multi-scale knowledge base
Since the novel machine learning algorithm (Variable-scale
clustering, VSC) has won high efficiency in various practical prob-
lems, this section applies the VSC to the case-based reasoning
mechanism for locating evidence in digital forensics.
Definition 1 (Multi-Scale Knowledge Base). Let DS = (U , AS , d,
V S f ) represents the multi-scale knowledge { base, where
{x1 , x2 , . . . , xh } is the case set; AS = A1 , A2 , . . . , Ar is the
attribute set and there is at least one attribute Aλ (Aλ ∈ AS )
has more than one observation scale, that is ∃Aλ , CL(Aλ ) =
⟨Aλ0 , Aλ1 , . . . , Aλn ⟩(λ = 1, 2, . . . , r); d = {d1 , d2 , . . . , dt } is the
solution set of every case; f is the information function, V S is the
case value domain of case set U that is f : U × AS → V S .
Fig. 2 shows the hierarchy structure of the multi-scale knowl-
edge base. Given a multi-scale attribute Aλ it can be seen that:
(1) There is the partial order relation between observation scale
pairs in the concept chain at different hierarchies, that is Aλi ⪯
Aλi+1 (i ∈ N); (2) The observation scale decides the case value in
the value space at the same hierarchy, that is Aλi = Vijλ |j ∈ N + ;
{ }
(3) There is the partial order relation between case value pairs
in the value space following the relation of observation scales
at different hierarchies, that is Aλi ⪯ Aλi+1 → Vijλ ⩾̸ V(iλ+1)k (i ∈
N ; j, k ∈ N + ).
Future Generation Computer Systems 122 (2021) 209–219
Fig. 2. The hierarchy structure of the multi-scale knowledge base.
Lemma 1. Each attribute of the single-scale case dataset, that is
constructed by the multi-scale knowledge base, has and only has one
observation scale.
According to Lemma 1, given a multi-scale knowledge base
DS that has r attributes Aλ ∈ AS ∈ DS (λ = 1, 2, . . . , r) if every
λ
attribute has n∏ observation scales Aλi ∈ Aλ (i = 0, 1, 2, . . . , (n −
1)), there are λ=1 nλ different single-scale case dataset in total.
r
Lemma 2. Any case partition of the multi-scale knowledge base,
that is divided by a lower hierarchical observation scale, is the
refinement of its higher hierarchical partition result.
According to Lemma 2, for observation scale Aλi , Aλs ∈ Aλ and
λ
Ai ⪯ Aλs (λ = 1, 2, . . . , r ; i = 0, 1, 2, . . . , (n − 1)), all the case
partitions Uitλ ∈ U /Aλi are the refinement of its higher hierarchical
partition result Ustλ ∈ U /Aλs , that is Uitλ ⊆ Ustλ (t ∈ N + ).
Compared to the traditional CBR knowledge base (in
Section 1), the multi-scale knowledge base could solve the time
varying problem through increasing multiple scales (like tempo-
ral scale) of every case attribute.
Compared to the traditional concept space model (in
Section 2.3), the multi-scale knowledge base increases the solu-
tion set structure (solution space), which could store the suspi-
cious evidential areas of all the cases for the automatic forensic
investigation.
After defining the structure of multi-scale knowledge base,
how to control the scale transformation process of multi-scale
knowledge base is supposed to be measured quantitatively.
According to the scale transformation theory, there are two
different scale transformation approaches, that is the scale up
transformation (ST ) and scale down transformation (ST ) For the
scale up transformation process, the change of case partitions in
} U = multi-scale knowledge base DS could be measured by the scale
up transformation rate (STR) as :
⋃l { λ
}
λ λ
| q=1 Usq |
STR(Ai , As ) = (1)
|U |
Where U ∈ DS is the case set and |U | calculates the total number
of cases in U; Observation scale Aλi , Aλs ∈ Aλ ∈ AS ∈ DS (λ =
1, 2, . . . , r), and Aλi ⪯ Aλs ; Case partition Uipλ ∈ U /Aλi (p =
λ
1, 2, . . . , t), Usq ∈ U /Aλs (q = 1, 2, . . . , l), and ∃Uipλ → Uipλ = Usqλ .
Similarly, For the scale down transformation process, the
change of case partitions in multi-scale knowledge base DS could
be measured by the scale down transformation rate (STR) as:
Uiqλ |
⋃t { }
λ λ
| p=1
STR(As , Ai ) = (2)
|U |
Where U ∈ DS is the case set and |U | calculates the total number
of cases in U; Observation scale Aλi , Aλs ∈ Aλ ∈ AS ∈ DS (λ =
211
A. Wang and X. Gao
Table 1
Research summary of the scale transformation theory.
# Research Problem
1 Concept space model of categorical variables
2 Concept space model of binary variables
3 Concept space model of numerical variables
4 Scale depth transformation mode
5 Scale breadth transformation mode
6 Single scale up transformation direction
7 Single scale down transformation direction
8 Scale transformation feedback mechanism
9 Optimistic scale transformation strategy
10 Pessimistic scale transformation strategy
Table 2
Example: Multi-scale knowledge base.
1, 2, . . . , r), and Aλi ⪯ Aλs ; Case partition Uipλ ∈ U /Aλi (p =
1, 2, . . . , t), Usqλ
∈ U /Aλs (q = 1, 2, . . . , l), and ∃Usqλ → Uipλ = Usqλ .
Table 2 shows a multi-scale knowledge base DS = (U
with six cases U = {xk |k ∈ [1, 6]}, two attributes A = A , A S all attributes under all scale transformation directions is also
with three observation scales respectively (that is A10 ⪯ A11 ⪯ A12 ,
A20 ⪯ A21 ⪯ A22 ), and six solutions d = {dk |k ∈ [1, 6]}.
Taking the basic single-scale case dataset {(that all
tributes stand at the lowest hierarchy) D0 = (U , A10 , A20 , d) as an
example, it can be seen that U /A10 = {{x1 } , {x2 } , {x3 } , {x4 } , {x5 } ,
{x6 }}, U /A11 = {{x1 , x2 , x3 } , {x4 } , {x5 , x6 }}, U /A12 = {{x1 , x2 , x3 ,
x4 } , {x5 , x6 }}.
If attribute A1 is implemented a one-step scale up transforma-
tion ST (A1 , 1), the effect of ST (A1 , 1) is STR(A10 , A11 ) = |U4| = 0.17;
|{x }|
1
If attribute A is implemented a two-step scale up transformation
ST (A1 , 2), the effect of ST (A1 , 2) is STR(A10 , A12 ) = |U | = 0.
|∅|
Similarly, taking the highest single-scale case dataset{ (that all
the attributes stand at the highest hierarchy) D2 = (U , A12 , A22 ,
d) as an example, if attribute A2 is implemented a one-step
scale down transformation ST (A2 , 1), the effect of ST (A2 , 1) is
STR(A22 , A21 )
= |{x5|U,x|6 }| = 0.33; If attribute A2 is implemented a two-step
scale down transformation ST (A2 , 2), the effect of ST (A2 , 2) is
|{x ,x }|
STR(A22 , A20 ) = 5|U |6 = 0.33.
From the above numerical examples, it can be seen that both
the scale up and down transformation rate STR ∈ [0, 1]. The
smaller STR represents the more significant changes of case par-
titions during once scale transformation; On the contrary, the
larger STR represents the less significant changes of case parti-
tions during once scale transformation.
3.2. Variable-scale clustering method based on the scale transforma-
tion strategy
In Section 3.1, the scale transformation rate (STR) has been
able to quantitatively evaluate the case partition change of once
scale transformation process of each attribute, that is attribute
scale transformation value. The smaller (STR) represents the more
significant scale transformation value; On the contrary, the larger
(STR) represents the less significant scale transformation value.
Future Generation Computer Systems 122 (2021) 209–219
[31] [8] [9] [32] [33] [34] [35] The proposed method
√ √ √ √
√ √ √
√ √
√ √ √ √ √ √ √
√ √ √
√ √ √ √ √ √ √
√ √
√
√
√
However, for the multiple attribute scale transformation prob-
lem, it is necessary to build the scale transformation strategy
and mechanism following the scale transformation value of each
attribute, in order to clarify the scale transformation sequence
and transformation direction of multi-attribute.
Hence, two scale transformation strategies are proposed fol-
lowing the scale transformation mechanism in Section 2.3 (see
Fig. 3).
Strategy 1. (Optimistic scale transformation strategy, OSTS)
During once scale transformation, always being prior to selecting
attribute with the maximum scale transformation value (attribute
with the smallest scale transformation rate).
Fig. 3 shows the scale transformation process under the OSTS.
In the beginning, establish the scale transformation space of the
initial single-scale case dataset through the multi-scale knowl-
edge base, and the candidate observation scale combination of
{ , 1A , 2d)}
S
defined. Then, according to the scale transform space, calculate
the scale transform rate of each attribute. As for the multi-scale
data analysis adopting the OSTS, attribute with the maximum
} the at- scale transformation value is selected as the target attribute of
each scale transformation. Finally, apply the new observation
scale to represent the target attribute and update dataset.
Strategy 2. (Pessimistic scale transformation strategy, PSTS)
During once scale transformation, always being prior to selecting
attribute with the minimum scale transformation value (attribute
with the largest scale transformation rate).
Fig. 3 also shows the scale transformation process under the
PSTS. Similarly , in the beginning, establish the scale transfor-
mation space of the initial single-scale case dataset through the
} multi-scale knowledge base, and the candidate observation scale
combination of all attributes under all scale transformation di-
rections is also defined. Then, according to the scale transform
space, calculate the scale transform rate of each attribute. While
for the multi-scale data analysis adopting the PSTS, attribute
with the minimum scale transformation value is selected as the
target attribute of the scale transformation. Finally, apply the new
observation scale to represent the target attribute and update
dataset.
In conclusion, the scale transformation performance of multi-
scale knowledge base could be heavily affected by several factors,
such as the scale transformation steps (i.e., single step transfor-
mation versus multiple steps transformation), the scale transfor-
mation strategies (i.e., optimistic scale transformation strategy
versus pessimistic scale transformation strategy), and the scale
transformation directions (i.e., scale up transformation direction
versus scale down transformation direction).
Therefore, in order to better control the scale transformation
process of multi-scale knowledge base, especially the variable-
scale clustering process, three assumptions are put forward fol-
lowing the traditional VSC method in Section 2.3:
⃝1 During once iteration process of variable-scale clustering,
only the observation scales that have direct partial order re-
lation with target scale could become the candidates for scale
transformation.
212
A. Wang and X. Gao
Fig. 3. The optimistic and pessimistic scale transformation strategies.
⃝2 During once iteration process of variable-scale clustering,
only one scale transformation strategy could be applied for scale
transformation.
3 During once iteration process of variable-scale clustering,
⃝
only one attribute in the whole multi-scale knowledge base could
be applied for scale transformation.
Moreover, in order to evaluate the clustering validity of multi-
scale knowledge base DS = (U , AS , d) the traditional granular
deviation (GrD) could be expressed as:
 ∑ ∑
 n rj=1 ni=1 δ (xij , xIj )
 of clustering results via GrD (see Eq.(3)).
GrD(XI , Aλ ) = √ (3)
λ 2
∑t
k=1 |Uk |
Where XI ⊆ U is any case cluster obtained by once iteration pro-
cess of variable-scale clustering, and XI = {x1 , x{2 , . . . , xn }; Aλ (λ }=
1, 2, . . . , r) is the target attribute, and U /Aλ = U1λ , U2λ , . . . , Utλ ;
xI is the cluster center of XI , and for all xij ∈ XI , if xij = xIj ,
δ (xij , xIj ) = 0; otherwise, δ (xij , xIj ) = 1.
Fig. 4 shows the variable-scale clustering process under scale
transformation strategies. Firstly, initial clustering analysis is per-
formed on the single-scale case dataset D1st at the basic hierarchy
level, and the satisfaction threshold R0 is determined via the GrD.
Retain the clusters that satisfies R0 with scale characteristics.
Then, delete all the objects of satisfied clusters from the original
multi-scale dataset, and select one attribute for scale transforma-
tion following one of the scale transformation strategies (OSTS
or PSTS), in order to obtain the new single-scale case data set
D2nd with higher hierarchy and fewer objects. After that, start
clustering analysis on D2nd via R0 , and retain all the satisfied
clusters with scale characteristics. Similarly, only the cases in the
remaining non-satisfaction clusters are continued to carry out the
next scale transformation process. Finally, the VSC-STS stops until
all objects have been partitioned into a satisfied cluster.
According to the optimistic and pessimistic scale transforma-
tion strategy, combined with the scale up transformation mech-
anism, a variable scale clustering algorithm based on the scale
transformation strategy (VSC-STS) is proposed. The algorithm
steps is shown in Algorithm 1.
The time complexity of VSC-STS is O(t ϕ ), where ϕ = min(m,
nr ), r is the number of attributes, n is the maximum number of
scale levels in one attribute, m is the number of cases, and t is
the time consuming of the meta clustering process.
213
Future Generation Computer Systems 122 (2021) 209–219
Algorithm 1: Variable-Scale Clustering Algorithm Based on the
Scale Transformation Strategy (VSC-STS)
Input: Multi-scale knowledge base DS with clear hierarchy
structure (CS), Number of clusters k, Scale transformation
range [Sstart , Send ]
Output: Scale hierarchy (Scale transformation route), Satisfied
clusters with scale characteristics.
Step 1. Start the initial clustering analysis on the basic scale
combination of DS and evaluate the satisfaction degree
Step 2. Identify satisfied clusters and take the largest satisfied
granular deviation value as R0 .
Step 3. Output all satisfied clusters with scale characteristics
and delete all the objects of satisfied clusters from DS .
Step 4. Start scale transformation following CS.
• If OSTS is adopt, scale up one attribute with the
minimum STR under the range condition
[Sstart , Send ], and update Ḋ.
• If PSTS is adopt, scale up one attribute with the
maximum STR under the range condition
[Sstart , Send ], and update Ḋ.
Step 5. Start clustering analysis on Ḋ via R0 . If the GrD of all
clusters exceeds R0 , reset R0 as the minimum granular
deviation value.
Step 6. Output all satisfied clusters with scale characteristics
and delete all the objects of satisfied clusters from Ḋ.
Step 7. If all objects are partitioned into a satisfied cluster
(i.e.Ḋ = ∅), output the scale transformation route;
Otherwise, go to Step 4.
For instance, let D1st = (U , A10 , A20 , d) represents the initial
{ }
single-scale case dataset of the multi-scale knowledge base DS
in Table 2. According to the first step of {the VSC-STS, the scale
up transformation space is STS(D1st ) = A11 , A21 . If the PSTS is
}
adopted, A2 becomes the target attribute for the second itera-
tion due to STR(A10 , A11 ) < STR(A20 , A21 ), and the single-scale}case
dataset for the second iteration process is D2nd = (U , A10 , A21 , d).
{
A. Wang and X. Gao Future Generation Computer Systems 122 (2021) 209–219

Fig. 4. The variable-scale clustering process under scale transformation strategies.

Where Caseλik (Caseλjk ) is the value of Casei (Casej ) under the

observation scale Aλk , (nλ + 1) is the number of scales in at-
tribute Aλ . If Caseλik = Caseλjk , δ (Caseλik , Caseλjk ) = 1; Otherwise,
δ (Caseλik , Caseλjk ) = 0.
For instance, the multi-scale similarity between x5 and x6 in
Table 2 is SimS (x5 , x6 ) = 0.83.
Finally, the variable scale case-based reasoning algorithm
(VSCBR) is proposed. The algorithm steps is shown in Algorithm
2.
Algorithm 2: Variable-Scale Case-Based Algorithm using the
VSC-STS (VSCBR)
Input: Multi-scale knowledge base DS , New case C ,Similarity
threshold ξ , Number of clusters k, Scale transformation
range [Sstart , Send ]
Output: Past solutions.
Step 1. Calculate the multi-scale similarity between new case
Fig. 5. Scale transformation process of the VSC-STS. C and all cluster centers in the knowledge base DS
using Eq.(4) and Eq.(5). If there are clusters that exceed
the similarity threshold ξ , go to Step 2; Otherwise go
During the second iteration, the scale up transformation space is to Step 3.
STS(D2nd ) = A11 , A22 If the OSTS is adopted, A1 becomes the target
{ }
Step 2. Output past accurate solutions of all qualified cases, in
attribute for the third iteration due to STR(A10 , A11 ) < STR(A21 , A22 ), the descending order of case similarity, and go to Step
and the single-scale 5.
}case dataset for the third iteration process
is D3rd = (U , A11 , A21 , d). Finally, the scale transformation route
{
Step 3. Revise the initial parameters ( that is the number of
could be obtained (see Fig. 5.) clusters k and scale transformation range ([Sstart , Send ])
and calculate new clusters of the multi-scale
3.3. Variable scale case-based reasoning method using the VSC-STS knowledge base DS through the
VSC-STS(D, k, [Sstart , Send ]). If there is clusters that
According to the structure of multi-scale knowledge case in exceed the similarity threshold ξ , go to Step 5;
Section 3.1, the Case Retrieve phase is supposed to consider the Otherwise go to Step 4.
similarity between new and past cases under all observation Step 4. Decrease the similarity threshold ξ , and go to Step 1.
scales. Step 5. Store the new case and the top qualified solution (that
has the greatest similarity with the new case) into the
Definition 2 (Multi-Scale Case Similarity). Let Casei , Casej repre- multi-scale knowledge base DS .
sents two different cases in the multi-scale knowledge
{ λ base DS = Step 6. Update the case clusters of the multi-scale knowledge
(U , AS , d), where multi-scale attribute set AS
= A |λ} 1, 2, . . . ,
= base DS through the VSC-STS(D, k, [Sstart , Send ]).
r }, and each attribute Aλ = Aλk |k = 0, 1, 2, . . . , nλ , the multi-
{
scale similarity between Casei and Casej is defined as :
Compared to the CBR-FT in Section 1, the proposed VSCBR
r
utilizes the case similarity information to replace more prior
d(Caseλi , Caseλj )
∑
SimS (Casei , Casej ) = (4) knowledge (like the evidence relevance rating), which could de-
λ=1 crease the subjective risks caused by digital forensic investiga-
λ
λ λ
n
∑ δ (Caseλik , Caseλjk ) tors. Moreover, the VSCBR knowledge base could update over
d(Casei , Casej ) = (5) time through increasing current criminal cases under different
(nλ + 1)
k=0 temporal scale.
214
A. Wang and X. Gao Future Generation Computer Systems 122 (2021) 209–219

Table 3
Investigation content for digital forensics in the bidding context.
# Laws and regulations Number of articles
1 Law of the People’s Republic of China on Tenders and Bids 67
2 Regulations for Implementations on the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Tenders and Bids 82
3 Government Procurement Law of the People’s Republic of China 86
4 Regulations for Implementations on the Government Procurement Law of the People’s Republic of China 78
5 The Administrative Rules on Bidding Invitation and Procurement of the Shenhua Group (the 2016 version) 137
6 Measures for Bidding Invitation and Procurement of Goods Needed in Construction Projects 64
7 Measures for Tenders and Bids for Investigation and Design of Engineering Construction Projects 59
8 Measures for Tenders and Bids for Construction of Engineering Construction Projects 91
9 Handling Measures for Dealing with Complaints in Bidding Invitation and Bidding in Construction Projects 30
10 Provisional Rules on Bidding Evaluation Committee and on Bidding Evaluation Methods 61
11 Provisional Measures for Administration of Bidding Evaluation Experts and Bidding Evaluation Tank of Experts 18
12 Provisional Rules for Announcing Bidding Results 21
13 Measures for Invitation for Online Bidding 66
14 The Administrative Rules on Bidding Invitation and Procurement of the Shenhua Group (the 2017 version) 109

Table 4
Summary of variables.
Attribute Scale Description
A10 Supply risk rating during the latest three months observation scale, that is [2017-09-01,2017-12-31]
Supply A11 Supply risk rating during the latest six months observation scale, that is [2017-06-01,2017-12-31]
A12 Supply risk rating during the latest one year observation scale, that is [2017-01-01,2017-12-31]
A20 Product value rating during the latest three months observation scale, that is [2017-09-01,2017-12-31]
Product A21 Product value rating during the latest six months observation scale, that is [2017-06-01,2017-12-31]
A22 Product value rating during the latest one year observation scale, that is [2017-01-01,2017-12-31]
A30 Demand risk rating during the latest three months observation scale, that is [2017-09-01,2017-12-31]
Demand A31 Demand risk rating during the latest six months observation scale, that is [2017-06-01,2017-12-31]
A32 Demand risk rating during the latest one year observation scale, that is [2017-01-01,2017-12-31]
A40 Location of the project under city observation scale
Project
A41 Location of the project under province observation scale

4. Experimental analysis
4.1. Experiment design
A real 15.9 GB bidding knowledge base from the Shenhua
Group is utilized for the experiments, which includes both text
bidding documents and image technical drawings. Table 3 shows
the 969 articles from fourteen laws and regulations that need
to be investigated. And all the 85 evidence location of bidding
cases are encoded as four digits (see Fig. 6). It can be seen that
compared to the multi-scale attribute set, the solution set (evi-
dence location) of bidding knowledge base also has a hierarchy
structure.
Three numerical experiments are designed to test the effec-
tiveness of the VSC-STS and VSCBR theoretically and experimen-
tally.
(1) Numerical experiments on the performance of the VSC-STS
The experiment objective of theoretical value verification is
to test whether the VSC-STS is able to improve the accuracy of
traditional clustering algorithm under various evaluation metrics.
⃝1 Validation analysis of the clustering results
According to the algorithm steps of VSC-STS (see Algorithm 1),
select k-modes as meta cluster algorithm. Moreover, we repeat
numerical experiment fifty times due to the random feature of
k-modes, and compare the variable scale clustering results with
the entire scale space clustering results.
⃝2 Sensitive analysis of the parameter threshold
According to the algorithm steps of VSC-STS, set the scale
transformation range as [3,6] and variation step as 0.1. Similarly,
we repeat numerical experiment fifty times due to the random
feature of k-modes, and compare the average clustering accuracy
under different initial parameter value.
There are two widely utilized evaluation approaches of clus-
tering algorithms, that is internal validation evaluation and ex-
ternal effective evaluation. Since the case set (domain) keeps
215
decreasing during every scale transformation process, the obser-
vation scale of the final variable-scale clustering result is incon-
sistent with other comparison algorithms. Thus, only the exter-
nal validation evaluation approach is adopted for comparative
experiments.
(2) Numerical experiment on the performance of the VSCBR
The experiment objective of practical value verification is to
test whether the VSCBR is able to predict suspicious evidential ar-
eas for digital forensics investigators. Since the VSC-STS is utilized
to support key steps of digital triage in the VSCBR (see Algorithm
2) , the practical value of the VSC-STS is also be verified through
this numerical experiment.
4.2. Data preparation
After field investigations of eight bidding managers from the
Shenhua Group, multi-scale attributes (dimensions) of the bid-
ding knowledge base is established (see Table 4) jointly with
managers and data analysts. According to managers’ experience,
there are totally four dimensions that greatly affects the forensic
investigation in the practical bidding process, i.e., the supply risk
dimension, product value dimension, demand risk dimension and
project value dimension.
Moreover, since the bidding managers make regular report of
their responsible districts quarterly, three temporary observation
scales (i.e., the latest three months, the latest six months and the
latest one year) and two spatial observation scales (i.e., the city
level and province level) are determined for the bidding knowl-
edge base. Therefore, all bidding raw data relevant to the first
three dimensions is extracted, transformed, loaded respectively
under three different temporal scales to obtain the first nine
variables. All bidding raw data relevant to the fourth dimension
is extracted, transformed, loaded respectively under two different
spatial scales to obtain the last two variables.
In order to clearly show the bidding experimental data, a sam-
ple of the bidding knowledge base with twenty five cases, four
A. Wang and X. Gao
Fig. 6. Example: Evidence location of bidding cases.
observation attributes (A1 , A2 , A3 , A4 ) and one solution attribute
(d) is provided (see Table 5). Taking the lowest observation scales
as the basic scale combination (A10 , A20 , A30 ), it can be seen that the
entire scale space could generate 54 different single-scale case
dataset (scale combinations).
Moreover, experiments utilize the classic external evaluation
metric (such as Fmeasure, NMI and RI) to analyze the validation
of VSC-STS in the first two experiments. All the experiments are
performed in OS X (10.14.4) environment on a machine with 8GB
RAM and 2.9 GHz Intel Core i5 CPU. All methods are coded in
Matlab R2017a.
4.3. Experiment results and discussion
In this section, the VSC-STS results of the first two experiments
and the VSCBR (combined with the VSC-STS) results of the third
experiment are discussed respectively.
(1) Numerical experiment on the validation of the VSC-STS
Fig. 7 further shows the validation experiment results of the
VSC-STS. The black broken line represents evaluation results of
each external validation metrics, i.e., the Fmeasure, NMI and
RI [36,37]. The blue dashed line represents the average clustering
accuracy of the k-modes under the basic scale combination; while
the red dashed line represents the average clustering accuracy
of the k-modes under the optimal (best) scale combination (see
Table 6).
It is found that the VSC-STS could completely meet the re-
quirements of traditional single-scale clustering methods on the
result validation. Further discussion is as follows.
216
Future Generation Computer Systems 122 (2021) 209–219
⃝1 During the fifty experiments, the average performance of
the VSC-STS method in all evaluation indexes are better than the
average effectiveness results obtained by the traditional single-
scale clustering method k-modes at the basic scale level. And
the accuracy improvement rate exceeds 10%, which verifies that
the VSC-STS could meet the validity requirement of traditional
single-scale clustering algorithms.
⃝2 During the fifty experiments, the deviation between the
average performance of the VSC-STS method and the average
effectiveness results obtained by the traditional single-scale clus-
tering analysis method k-modes under the optimal scale level is
less than 5%. That proves that the VSC-STS could improve the
efficiency of traditional single-scale clustering algorithms.
(2) Numerical experiment on the parameter sensitivity of the
VSC-STS
Fig. 8 shows the sensitivity experiment results of the initial
algorithm parameter of the VSC-STS. The broken line represents
the standardized average clustering validation evaluated by ex-
ternal validation metrics (i.e., the Fmeasure, NMI and RI), within
the scale transformation range of initial algorithm parameter.
It can be seen that all evaluation indexes stay at a relatively
stable level with the increase of algorithm parameters. Further
discussion is as follows.
⃝1 Although the validation evaluation results of three indexes
fluctuates by changing the initial satisfaction (degree) threshold,
the maximum fluctuation range is less than 1%, which indicates
that the validation of the VSC-STS is insensitive to the initial
algorithm parameter.
A. Wang and X. Gao Future Generation Computer Systems 122 (2021) 209–219

Fig. 7. The validation experiment results of the VSC-STS.

Table 5
Example: Bidding knowledge base.
U A10 A11 A12 A20 A21 A22 A30 A31 A32 A40 A41 d
Case1 1 E Y 1 L N 1 T Y 1 Y 1101
Case2 1 E Y 1 L N 1 T Y 1 Y 1101
Case3 1 E Y 2 L N 2 U Y 1 Y 1101
Case4 2 E Y 2 L N 3 R O 1 Y 1101
Case5 2 E Y 2 L N 2 U Y 2 N 1201
Case6 2 E Y 3 L N 3 R O 1 Y 2002
Case7 3 G Y 3 L N 3 R O 2 N 2002
Case8 3 G Y 4 L N 2 U Y 2 N 1201
Case9 3 G Y 4 L N 3 R O 1 Y 2002
Case10 3 G Y 5 I N 2 U Y 1 Y 3001
Case11 4 G Y 5 I N 3 R O 2 N 2002
Fig. 8. The experiment results of algorithm parameter sensitivity.
Case12 4 G Y 5 I N 4 S O 1 Y 3001
Case13 4 G Y 5 I N 1 T Y 1 Y 3001
Case14 5 F N 5 I N 4 S O 2 N 5001
Case15 5 F N 6 I N 2 U Y 2 N 5001 the accurate evidence area automatically, which is able to reduce
Case16 5 F N 6 I N 3 R O 1 Y 5001
Case17 5 F N 6 I N 4 S O 1 Y 5001
the digital triage workload of forensic investigators. It can be
Case18 6 B N 6 I N 1 T Y 2 N 5001 seen that time-consuming curve of both two algorithms presents
Case19 6 B N 6 I N 5 Q N 1 Y 3001 an overall stable but local fluctuations tendency, and decreases
Case20 6 B N 7 M Y 5 Q N 2 N 4001 obviously among the initial stage. That is mainly because the
Case21 7 B N 6 I N 4 S O 3 N 4001 heavy initial case clustering work of the bidding knowledge base,
Case22 7 B N 7 M Y 5 Q N 3 N 4001 which has been improved rapidly proven by the sharp decrease of
Case23 7 B N 8 M Y 5 Q N 4 N 4001
Case24 7 B N 8 M Y 6 Q N 4 N 4001
calculation time. The experimental results demonstrate that the
Case25 7 B N 8 M Y 6 Q N 4 N 4001 historical experience contributes to the solution of new problems
(cases) significantly. In addition, the time consuming of the VSCBR
* Valuables A10 , A11 and A12 are encoded as [1-11], [A-G] and [Y,N] respectively is always lower than the traditional CBR at any cases, which
according to the level of supply risk under each temporal scale; Valuables A20 , A21
indicates that the proposed VSCBR has high efficiency in practical
and A22 are encoded as [1-9], [I-M] and [Y,N] respectively according to the level
forensic tasks.
of product value under each temporal scale; Valuables A30 , A31 and A32 are encoded
Fig. 9(b) shows the comparison results of the traditional CBR
as [1-7], [Q-U] and [Y,O,N] respectively according to the level of demand risk
under each temporal scale; Valuables A40 and A41 are encoded as [1-5] and [Y,N] and the proposed VSCBR method in the case revise phase. Ten
respectively according to the level of project value under each spatial scale. new cases are utilized to test whether the VSCBR could locate
all the suspicious evidential areas automatically. It can be seen
that time-consuming curve of both two algorithms also presents
an overall stable but local fluctuations tendency, and decreases
⃝2 The overall tendency of three validation evaluation results
obviously among the initial stage. And the time consuming of
increase slightly with the increase of the initial satisfaction pa-
the VSCBR is always lower than the traditional CBR at any cases,
rameter, which indicates that the over strict initial satisfaction
which further indicates that the proposed VSCBR has high effi-
constraint is not conducive to the VSC-STS obtaining the optimal ciency in practical forensic tasks.
solution.
(3) Numerical experiment on the performance of the VSCBR 5. Conclusions
Fig. 9(a) shows the comparison results of the traditional CBR
and the proposed VSCBR method in the case reuse phase. Fifteen As for the increasingly criminal usage of information technol-
new cases are utilized to test whether the VSCBR could locate ogy, the digital forensic analysis (like the digital triage methods)
217
A. Wang and X. Gao
Table 6
Evaluation results of the VSC-STS.
Objectives Initial observation scale combination (A10 A20 A30 A40 )
Average Maximum Minimum
Fmeasure 0.6269 0.7863 0.4777
NMI 0.5791 0.7610 0.3830
RI 0.8079 0.8900 0.7300
Fig. 9. The comparison results of the traditional CBR and the proposed VSCBR.
becomes an emerging technique for cybercrime investigators to
improve examination efficiency. This paper aims to solve the
digital triage problem for locating evidence during the auto-
matic forensic process. Firstly, according to STR, the optimistic
scale transformation strategy (OSTS) and the pessimistic scale
transformation strategy (PSTS) are proposed to optimize the at-
tribute selection in the scale transformation process; Secondly, a
variable scale clustering algorithm based on the scale transforma-
tion strategy (VSC-STS) is proposed to overcome the uncertainty
caused by the random attribute selection in the VSC. We test
the effectiveness of the VSC-STS theoretically and experimentally.
Finally, after defining the structure of the multi-scale knowledge
base, a variable scale case-based reasoning method (VSCBR) is
proposed to support investigators predicting evidential areas. A
case study is established using a real 15.9 GB bidding case dataset,
which contains both text bidding documents and image technical
drawings. Experiment results illustrate that the validation of the
proposed VSC-STS is significantly improved compared with the
traditional single-scale clustering algorithm, and it is insensitive
to the initial parameter threshold. Also, the proposed method
VSCBR is able to help investigators locate likely rule-violating
evidences in practice.
Future studies will focus on improve the efficiency of the
VSCBR through optimizing the initial parameter and human in-
volvement, as well as explain why a certain attack has been
made [38]. More types of criminal behaviors for digital forensics
will be considered in the construction of the knowledge base.
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Ai Wang: Conceptualization, Methodology, Software, Valida-
tion, Writing - original draft. Xuedong Gao: Supervision, Re-
sources, Writing - review & editing.
Declaration of competing interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing finan-
cial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared
to influence the work reported in this paper.
Future Generation Computer Systems 122 (2021) 209–219
Optimal observation scale combination (A11 A21 A31 A40 )
Standard deviation Average Maximum Minimum Standard deviation
0.0692 0.6940 0.8436 0.5543 0.0615
0.0742 0.6548 0.8537 0.4786 0.0669
0.0369 0.8409 0.9167 0.7733 0.0288
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Ai Wang received her Ph.D degree in 2021 in Man-
agement Science and Engineering and she is currently
doing her postdoctoral research in the School of Hu-
manities and Social Science, University of Science and
Technology Beijing, China. She has published papers
in respected journals like IEEE Access, Studies in In-
formatics and Control. Her research interests focus on
data mining and decision making, as well as emergency
management.
Xuedong Gao received his Bachelor degree from
Nankai University, China in 1983, and the Ph.D. de-
gree from Belarusian State University in 1993. He is
currently the professor in the Department of Manage-
ment Science and Engineering, School of Economics and
Management at University of Science and Technology
Beijing, China. His research interests include man-
agement process optimization, data mining, decision
making.