Cellebrite Helps Digital Forensic Analysts Unlock Cell Phone Data
In a very short span of time, cell phones have gone from exclusive vanity accessories for the wealthy to crucial equipment for everyone in nearly every walk of life. We depend on our smartphones for everything from business to fitness, to managing our social lives and distracting us when we’re bored.
Whether it’s a good idea or not, we all keep vital information on our phones. This trend is likely to accelerate as the world becomes more and more network-integrated.
For digital forensics examiners, a smartphone is probably the single most valuable source of relevant information in an investigation. The question becomes how do we access this trove, when much of it is hidden behind difficult passwords?
Track a Cell Phone in Milwaukee
Available Only to Authorized Examiners
Telecom giant Cellebrite is best known for phone-to-phone data transfer devices, like the ones in your local cell phone store. These memory exchangers are most often used to copy contacts, messages and image data from one device to another when you upgrade or replace your old cell phone.
In 2007, Cellebrite revealed their first mobile forensics tool: the Universal Forensic Extraction Device, or UFED.
UFED allows authorized digital forensics examiners to access hidden data on all of the most popular and legacy cell phones, tablets and GPS devices. UFED bypasses pattern, PIN and password locks on Apple iPhones and iPads and Android smartphones and tablets. It will fully disable these locks on some Samsung Android devices.
Smartphone analysis using Cellebrite’s UFED device will yield valuable information about device use, including:
- Text messages
- Voicemail
- Call logs
- Contacts
- Browser cookies
- App use
- Deleted data
- Geolocation
Mapping programs, such as Google Maps, actively track your location and corresponding activity. Some of this tracking data is available to you with Google Maps Location History tool.
Cellebrite digital extractions bypass passwords, letting examiners see where activity occurred.
Even the advanced proprietary security in Blackberry devices can’t stand up to Cellebrite. UFED will recover deleted BBM messages and chats, photos and history.The Cellebrite UFED is a very powerful device. Because of this, UFED is only available to licensed and authorized law enforcement, military, intelligence and e-discovery agencies.
Recover Deleted Files, Text Messages and Passwords
UFED creates a forensically-secure connection with the device, ensuring data will not be corrupted and preserving the chain of evidence, should it ever be admitted into a legal proceeding.
With Cellebrite’s hardware a digital forensic analyst can access password-protected information and communication from mobile Facebook, Skype, Kik Messenger, Twitter and more.
If you need to find out if your husband or wife is using a dating app like Tindr, or if your teen is sharing inappropriate pictures on Snapchat, Spindletop Investigations will find out.
Many local law enforcement agencies lack the resources to house their own digital forensics labs. Spindletop Investigations will bring the Cellebrite lab to these smaller police departments, helping them reopen cases which have run cold.
Wisconsin Mobile Forensics Detective
For more information on how Cellebrite's UFED technology interfaces with mobile devices, read our post on Logical vs. Physical Extraction.
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As a full-service private detective agency, Spindletop Investigations will use all of the tools at our disposal to expose the truth in your investigation. We will maintain absolute confidentiality for our clients and the targets of our investigations, except when legally and ethically bound to report our findings to law enforcement.
Spindletop explains all disclosures with our clients before any agreement is made to proceed with an investigation. We will work to define the scope of the investigation, and will not pursue any leads which we deem to fall outside of that scope.
For more information, refer to our confidentiality disclaimer below, or call Spindletop Investigations.
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