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Why Cell Forensic Are Useful for Law Enforcement

By: Rick Burton

If you are still analyzing pay phones, then you are existing in ancient history. As we enter the next ten years of the twentieth century, a lot of folks are using cell telephones - as well as the targets that we analyze.

As cell phones have gotten more advanced, it does not make a great deal of sense any longer to just name the devices "phones.". In fact, the title "mini computer" would be a more suitable title for these mighty little communication smartphones. Smartphones like the blackberry and iphone are notably powerful sources of forensic evidence.

Ordinary conviction among many - especially smaller - police agencies is that investigating cell forensics is more scientific than they have the time or the personell to handle. But this is just not the case. Take a look abroad: the UK, and other nearby Eurpean nations, are far more advanced that the United States when it comes to extracting forensics information out of mobile phones. This advancement was not that challenging; it really only took a willingness to recognize that cell forensics are valuable for investigations. We will discuss importance of cell phone forensics in this article. In another article, we discuss cell forensics extraction tools.

Though it may seem to be a trivial question if you have any experience with mobile forensics, no double several investigations division cops might want a definition for mobile forensics. Here is a good definition:

The removal and analysis of information from cell telephones seized by investigators.
To aquire these cell telephones from subjects, they are usually captured during an arrest or when a search warrent is exercised. The way to lawfully get hold of mobile phones for cases is not the point of this article - we have to suppose that you are somewhat familiar with the basics of criminal justice. Seek advice from your defense attorney to make sure that you acquire the devices corectly. Take into account that the process from start to finish needs to be documented for court.

Cell forensic data includes:

- Emails ( in the case of smartphones)
- Address books
- Pictures (occationallly together with geo-information!)
-Text messages
-Call Detail Records (aka numbers called and numbers calling)

The importance of mobile device forensics is rather apparent.

They can easily produce the next lead of your investigation, but they also provide valuable background for your subjects. Who is called most often by your subject? Who is receiving his emails? What individuals are a element of his core group of co-conspirators?

Simply getting information off of a phone, however, is not enough. You need a way to analyze the information. It is not uncommon for forensic investigators to rave about the number of files they are able to pull off a particilar phone. However, the only point of extracting data from a handset is to generate leads and the resulting evidence with ANALYSIS.

In another article later in this series, we will hit on some mobile forensic analysis software that turns the information from the aquisition devices (like the Cellebrite, Secureview, or XRY) and actually turns it into useful intelligence automatically.

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