Extract data from cellphones, smartphones, PDAs and iPods
Investigative Tool For Mobile Data Extraction
Cell phone extraction devices make it possible for law enforcement to copy the entire contents of a phone's memory, including deleted files and phone lists in order to note any illegal activity or misuse of a cellphone. Cell phone data extraction used to be more difficult, and require specialized equipment in order to make a legal copy of the contents. Now that phones also hold video, pictures, email, text messages, and other program data, including GPS data, they can yield a treasure trove of information in investigations including drug smuggling, immigration, assault, robbery, and other cases where the information in a phone can place a person in a certain place at a certain time. Additionally, this data could be used to establish a positive alibi by someone who can show that they did of did not contact someone, or were not in a specific GPS location.
Cellphone data extraction and decryption devices, like the Cellebrite UFED Touch, can get pretty much all the information, on a telephone, as well as GPS and mapping data that paints a complete picture of where a person may have been. Police are using this knowledge to quickly seize mobile phones and extract information that may show contacts, associations, and images (including GPS geotags) that can help them track down the time, place, and other details of a crime or alleged criminal activity. Apps make it possible to map out timelines of activity, when certain people were called, and what text messages were sent between parties. This could lead to further warrants and further extractions of phones on the calling list to get a complete picture of anything that was deleted and not recoverable, such as a SMS chat or other information that may be pertinent to a crime. Chat logs and calls go a long way in proving conspiracies and organized criminal activity, and mapping makes it possible to find locations where things happened, or where evidence was disposed of. The phone may indeed know where the bodies are buried, especially if it indicates that the owner spent 4 hours at a specific remote location, or paused for a minute on a bridge in the middle of the night. When it comes to data mining, extraction devices are considered far more trustworthy to juries than confidential informants, because only one of them will tell you all it knows.
Notes and Special Information
Special note: Depending on the circumstance, the copying of a person's private information from a cellphone may be illegal without a search warrant.