PREVIEW: Mobile Forensics

Dear Readers,

Is Mobile Forensics important for the success of an investigation? We would say ‘yes’, no doubt. Mobile devices paired with Internet of Things and Cloud Computing are crucial in digital investigations. The newest issue of eForensics covers all these topics from a forensic standpoint. 

The edition opens up with the article “Mobile Forensics - Digital Investigations in Mobile Telephony Devices” and then we go with the “Are you ready to hand your mobile in for questioning?” piece that brings huge awareness about what a mobile thief can find in our cellphone in the first place. This issue also contains a write-up about Mobile Forensics Outside Labs.

As mentioned, inside you will also find articles on Security of Things and papers covering cloud computing and cloud forensics.

In addition, you will read about digital privacy in hotel rooms (pretty hot topic nowadays), UAVs Forensics (same!), and Forensic Triage, the process that revolves around the collection, assembling, analysis and prioritizing of digital evidence from an investigation.

Thanks to all authors, reviewers, and proofreaders for participating in this project.

Have a nice read!

Regards,

Dominika Zdrodowska

and the eForensics Magazine Editorial Team

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INSIDE OF THE PREVIEW: Full article by Tokyo_v2 "Are you ready to hand your mobile in for questioning?"

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

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Mobile Forensics - Digital Investigations in Mobile Telephony Devices

by Deivison Franco, Leandro Trindade, and Daniel Müller

Mobile devices are present in the lives of almost every person in the form of mobile phones or tablets, among other devices. Thus, the expert examination of these devices can provide valuable information and evidence for criminal investigation and prosecution. However, the wide range of brands, models and operating systems, as well as the life cycle of these products offers a considerable challenge for the experts of Computer Forensics. Unlike the classical methods of examination of computers, there is no fail-safe method for performing skills on mobile devices. In this article, the main aspects that should be considered to ensure the preservation of material evidence coupled with the recovery of much information as possible in this device category will be analyzed.

Are you ready to hand your mobile in for questioning?

by Tokyo_v2

Without the need to touch any social media accounts on a phone, an investigator can gather a lot of crucial information on a case. The phone holds sensitive data everyone needs to be reminded of, and can be aware of, in case of mobile theft. The list of information that can be grabbed off a mobile phone is large but I will be focusing on one of the first places someone will look once they have your phone. 

Digital Privacy in Hotel Rooms

by Maciej Makowski

When it comes to erosion of digital privacy, the finger of blame is often pointed at the social media and tech companies. It is easy to forget that the spectrum of entities for whom we are data subjects is much wider. And the phrase “I have read and understood the data privacy policy” is among the most prolific lies told daily on the Internet.

For instance, when was the last time you actually read the online privacy policy while staying in a hotel?

Forensic Triage

by Collins Bunde

Forensic triage is the process that revolves around the collection, assembling, analysis and prioritizing of digital evidence from an investigation.

It helps to rank potential data in terms of priority so that the most important and volatile data can be investigated first. By easing forensic investigator’s time, forensic triage enables field agents to not over collect artefacts while at the field, however, they are more inclined to collect only valuable evidence while on the scene, enabling them to build cases faster.

Mobile Forensic Outside Labs: 3 Simple Steps for Becoming an Expert in Frontline Investigation

by Chris Chiang

Mobile Forensics uses technology to establish facts in a criminal investigation that provides forensic examinations, and assists outside law enforcement on special cases. After working with brilliant people from law enforcement agencies for years, I started thinking about interesting ways to generate great ideas to solve problems effectively.

Uses of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in Crime Scene Investigations

by Chirath De Alwis

Recent advancement of technology has helped many people uplift their quality of life. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), also known as Drones, are one such technological advancement that can help society simplify day-to-day activities. These drones are now very famous among many industries such as agriculture, photography, transportation. This same technology can also be used to conduct unethical activities. Capturing privacy related content, illegal interception of other drones, military use of drones for bombing are some common scenarios of many unethical activities that can be done using these drones. Investigating each scenario requires different approaches, as the availability of evidence can vary. Therefore, requirements for digital forensics investigations of these drones have been created in crime scene investigations. This article focuses on the technology behind these drones and how these drones can be useful in crime scene investigations. This helps investigators simplify the digital forensics investigations of drones. 

Acquisition of profiles and comments on Facebook with FAW 8 | sponsored article |

The FAW - Forensics Acquisition of Websites - software was born as a forensic browser for the acquisition of web pages with legal value. FAW was developed in compliance with national and international regulations, scientific papers and the best practices of Digital Forensics.

Security of Things – Digital Security for IoT Devices 

by Deivison Franco, Leandro Trindade, and Daniel Müller

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a technological revolution that has brought about the use of electronic devices in our daily lives that are equipped with omnipresent intelligence. With this growing technological immersion, it seems increasingly smart to bet on information security, as confidential data travels across the network without proper protection, and its violation can cause the most varied types of damages.

Cloud Computing & Security practices

by Sudharshan Kumar

Cumulus, cumulonimbus, stratocumulus - the list goes on and on. Wondering what these names are? Those are the types of cloud formations in the sky, visible from anywhere in the world! It has always been exciting for me to talk about clouds, blurry childhood memories where we used to look up at the sky and wonder about the shapes of the clouds. As a young boy, I saw multiple shapes of clouds that resembled the silhouette of various objects and creatures, like a kite, tree, lion, dinosaur, or snake. All those childhood memories and that excitement still continues when it comes to clouds – except that now it is a different cloud altogether.

Quickly crawling into the cloud technology that has reached an epitome of computing and infrastructure business today, cloud computing has become a part and parcel of small, medium and large-scale businesses in one way or another. To better understand the pivotal role of cloud computing, it would be reasonable to roll-back and start things from scratch such that we get familiar with the evolution of cloud computing over a period of time to what it is today.

Cloud Forensics – Digital Investigations in Cloud Environments

by Joice Ribeiro do Rosário Dantas and Deivison Pinheiro Franco

We may not realize how much we are connected, since all this "information revolution" is transforming our lives so directly. Probably after this statement you may have compared his life before and I was doing a few minutes ago, even before you start reading this article. We can imagine that over our heads there is a cloud with all of our data that can be accessed from any mobile device or desktop, but probably is not secure. Since the information age, along with the concept of cloud computing is taking all this ratio, alternatives to condensation and security of all these shared data have been studied hard for researchers, and computer forensic expert has the responsibility of looking more this new challenge, which will be treated in this article.

Cloud Forensic challenges and Emerging Technologies

by Florence Love Nkosi

The article will briefly highlight the challenges in cloud computing forensics and discuss recent trends including technologies and frameworks that can be used to conduct cloud forensics investigations.