Common Tools and Techniques of Mobile Phone Forensics
Digital Forensics is the collection, analysis, and detection of data from a digital device. Mobile forensics is the umbrella term that refers to investigative techniques used to extract evidence from mobile phones, tablets, PDAs, and other mobile devices. The acquisition is a process of gathering information from various mobile devices and the associated media. The amounts of invaluable data that can be obtained from various mobile devices are humongous. The digital forensic experts should use thoughtful methods to analyze and recover data from mobiles. Robust tools and techniques of mobile forensics will give them the upper hand in handling the case at hand smoothly.
The tools of the trade
The software tools are continually evolving as the technology of devices is becoming more and more advanced. New techniques are developed continually for the extraction of data from various cellular devices. The most common techniques that are used for the extraction of data in forensics are as follows:
Physical acquisition: This process entails copying the data structure of the original device. This includes files, system data, and even evidence that are hidden or deleted. This is a time-consuming process but it is favored generally because it is thorough. This is also known as Hex dump.
Logical acquisition: In this process, the cellular device is connected to the workstation or the hardware using Bluetooth, Infrared, RJ-45 cable, or USB cable. The computer will send a set of commands to the device through the logical extraction tool. The required data is collected through this process from the phone’s memory and is sent to the forensic workstation for analysis.
Chip-off: This technique allows the examiners to acquire data from the flash memory of the cellular device. The experts will remove the memory chip of the phone and will create a binary image of it. This is a costly procedure that requires a thorough understanding of the hardware. If it is handled without care, the chip might get damaged physically and the data retrieval will be rendered impossible.
Data acquired from a mobile device
Using a robust tool mobile forensic tool, various data can be obtained from the mobile device. The common data types acquired include contacts list, call log, SMS, images, audio, video, GPS data, and apps data.
Bottom line
An efficient and meticulous forensic process is essential for fast acquisition and analysis of data from mobiles. This can be done with Pelorus Technologies sound forensic solution.We provide comprehensive solutions to fulfill the need of our clients as per the application. Ask for a Demo for more details.
