3 THINGS ATTORNEYS SHOULD KNOW ABOUT CELL PHONE FORENSICS Cell Phones or more precisely smart phones are an imprint of a person’s personal and professional life nowadays. They possess a vast repository of information about the day to day activities of the user including his location, his schedule for the day and his contacts. This makes mobile devices and cellular data analysis an integral part of investigating both civil and criminal litigations.
Evidence recovered as mobile data pin points the location of a person and helps attorneys to find the authenticity of statements given by witnesses as well as suspects. Therefore attorneys and lawyers must be aware what information can be found on cell phones and tablets and how to use it, to effectively represent and advise their clients. Here are 3 things that attorneys need to know about Cell Phone Forensics and its role in procuring evidence for the effective representation and trial of their clients.
What Information to Collect Mobile devices store a plethora of diverse information about the user’s life. It includes phone book details, messages, videos, images, social media application information and other messenger applications. The most important contribution of smart phones towards evidence is the location of the user. The location of every cell phone is recorded since it needs to access the nearest cell phone tower for communication.
Also applications like camera, WhatsApp and even secure applications leave a record of location data which is crucial as evidence. Besides the data already visible on the cell phone, deleted data like messages, browsing history, call records, contact lists, image and video files can be retrieved using Cell Phone Forensics. Using specific tools and software, data deleted months ago can be recovered from databases as well as app information.
How to Collect Data Apart from the physical memory of the handset, the SIM card, external SD card and the servers can be a huge depository of information. Apart from the sources, it is essential that the device itself can be accessed. Most smart phones are protected by passwords, patterns and even thumb impression of the owner. Either, users can be compelled to provide their passwords or forensic experts are deployed to break the protection. Sometimes, it can be a complex mechanism to retrieve data if it is in the encrypted format. Digital forensic software is designed to locate and retrieve both encrypted and non encrypted data.
How to Correlate Evidence Not all the data retrieved is relevant to the litigation at hand. The trick lies in recognizing relevant evidence which can be used during the trial. Separating material proof like location of the cell phone, incriminating files and messages and even call records as well as recorded conversations is extremely important. Correlating the information presents a clear picture to establishing a chain of events in order to help attorneys effectively represent their clients during trials.
The amount of data that can be found in a heavy cell phone user is confounding. Attorneys should ascertain that every minute bit of information has been collected including the deleted ones before the beginning of a case. Having all required information at your disposal can aid in building a strong case and pave the way to a successful resolution.
For more information Institute of Computer Foresnsic Examinations and Criminal Investigations 4360 Western Center Blvd., #304 Fort Worth, Texas, USA 76137 Email: daniel_james@att.net Web Site: https://www.icfeci.com