Harry Potter photo-leaker might be busted through metadata

Techno-forensics may reveal the identity of the anonymous person who photographed every page of the new Harry Potter book and put it online. The EXIF metadata attached to the photos is easy to alter, remove or forge, but if the metadata attached to the uploaded photos is correct, then the serial number of the camera is now known. Canon speculates that the camera owner likely had the device serviced during its lifetime, which would create a connection between the serial number and a person (though that person may not own the camera any longer).

The information, known as Exchangeable Image File Format (Exif) data, has already revealed that the camera used was a Canon Rebel 350. Because the model is three years old, the device would likely have been serviced at least once since it was purchased, in which case the owner's name would be known.

The serial number itself would not necessarily give away the name of the owner, Canon said, as it can only match serial numbers with owners if the purchaser registers the device after buying it. Every time a Canon camera is serviced, however, the serial number and owner are logged together.

"In theory, we can find out which country the camera was sold in and in turn the warranty and service centre records in that country could be checked," Vic Solomon, a product intelligence officer at Canon's UK head office, said. "It would take a lot of work, but there's a good chance they could find him or her.

"From what we know, the device is one of the original Rebel cameras, probably a 350D, and given that they've been out for three years, it's likely the owner would have had it cleaned or repaired in that time."

Link (Thanks, Ian!)