Complete Guide of Forensic Analysis of Mobile Device

Do you know that mobile or smartphones can also be used to commit cyber crimes? This is where mobile forensic services are used. Therefore, this guide helps you to understand the forensic analysis of mobile device services. So, we start the article by the introduction.

What is Mobile Device Forensics?

Just like any other forensic services, mobile forensics is used to gather information from smartphones. Today, almost everyone has a mobile or smartphone. The purpose of these devices is to make life easier, but unfortunately some use it to harm people.

This is why mobile forensic is used which gathers evidence to help in solving the crimes. But you might wonder what type of information obtained from these devices. Below is a list of the data the investigator found.

Data Obtained from Mobile Devices

There are many types of information that are useful based on what we need, it is the job of the investigators to collect the relevant data and analyze them.

• Text messages and call logs
• Contacts and calendar entries
• Photos and videos
• Application data
• Location data

These data are very crucial in the investigation and also after gathering them we have to take necessary measures to protect the evidence from any alteration during the process. Now, let’s discuss the significance of forensic analysis of mobile device.

The Importance of Mobile Device Forensics Services

Today’s smartphones store vast amounts of data in one place. Also, they are easy to operate and are used by both professional and personal users. Therefore, mobile phones contain critical data relevant to investigation.

• It provides various data that can be very helpful, such as messages, videos, photos, etc.
• From the mobile forensics, you can uncover the fraudulent activities, gather evidence of online harassment, and also help to understand how data breach occurs and solve them.
• Properly conducted mobile devices analysis can help gather evidence for court trials.
• In corporate settings, it can investigate misconduct and data leak from employee phones.
• The investigation can also identify corrupted vulnerabilities in mobile devices and recover lost data.
• Mobile forensics can quickly get information related to emergency situations such as tracking criminal activity in real time, locating missing persons, etc.

From these points, you can see that forensic analysis of mobile device not only collects information but also provides many useful facilities to help protect your important data. Now, let’s see how mobile data forensics companies operate the forensics investigation.

The Process of Mobile Device Forensics

The procedure for mobile data forensics is similar to any forensic analysis. Following are the steps investigators follow.

1. Identification: the first step is to determine the model of the mobile from which the data will be gathered. Then, the investigators search for the required information.
2. Acquisition: Once the information we need is found, it is collected for further analysis.
3. Analysis: The data is analyzed using various methods and tools to extract information to solve the crime.
4. Preservation: After obtaining the relevant data, it will preserve in a secured place. So that it will be secure when submitted to court.
5. Reporting: Everything that we found during the investigation we documented, including the methods used to uncover the data.

Techniques Used in Mobile Forensics Services

Forensic analysis of mobile device involves multiple methods. As investigations have several steps, there are also various ways to analyze and collect the evidence.

• Data Extraction Techniques: Different types of information extracted from smartphones or mobiles using various techniques depending on the circumstances. These include logical, physical, file system, Chip off and JTAG extractions.
• Data Analysis Techniques: After extracting data from phones. There are various methods to analyze the data. It includes manual, automated, and artifact analysis.
• Data Carving: This method recovers files and data from raw memory images or file systems when the data structure is damaged or missing. It can reconstruct and recover deleted files or data that are difficult to access.
• Cryptography and Decryption: Criminals often encrypt their important data to make it hard to understand or access. Investigators use different techniques to decrypt this data, including password bypassing and decryption.
• Cloud Data Extraction: With the rise of cloud platforms for data storage, extracting evidence from the cloud can be challenging. This method involves using authentication credentials and obtaining proper legal permissions.
• App- Specific Analysis: Applications like social media, messaging apps, etc. provide useful information. Extracting data from these apps is helpful in the investigation.to collect evidence.

These are some of the methods that forensic investigators use to gather the information. These techniques continuously evolve with advancements of mobile technology and digital forensics. experts must stay updated with the latest tools and methods. Speaking of tools, there are various utilities that make investigations easier.

Tools used to Forensic Analysis of Mobile Device

• MailXaminer: This software analyzes emails with great accuracy and speed. It collects and analyzes email information, used in various platforms, and easily extract relevant data.
• Cellebrite UFED: This tool extracts data from multiple varieties of mobile devices and applications. It supports logical, physical and file systems extraction techniques. It uses a variety of operating systems including Android and iOS.
• X1 Social Discovery: This software focuses on extracting and analyzing data from social media platforms and web-based sources. It collects data from social media accounts, emails, web content and preserves evidence in a forensic manner.
• EnCase Mobile Investigator: This software is part of the broader EnCase suite, to extract and analyze mobile data. It involves every type of data extraction methods: logical, physical and file systems.
• FTK Imager: a versatile imaging tool that supports multiple types of data extraction from mobile devices. it creates forensically sound images of mobile device data, supporting multiple file systems and storage media.

There are many softwares available on the market that will help investigators in their work. In this section we have listed the most popular tools that provide great results. So far, we have covered the forensic analysis of mobile device. Now, let’s see the problems mobile devices forensic investigators face.

Challenges of Mobile Device Forensics

Like any other forensic analysis, many issues can arise during an investigation. These can happen due to inexperience, lack of skills and more. So, to become an expert in this field, these challenges must overcome. So, below are some common problems.

• Modern devices use strong encryption methods, making data extraction and analysis a lot harder.
• Today there are a variety of mobile devices models and operating systems as you can’t use all in one approach.
• Mobiles or smartphones have volatile storage spaces that temporarily store data, which can lost if power is off.
• Cloud storage is widely used, making accessing data complex and requiring a lengthy process.
• It is important to followIn legal and ethical standards when obtaining data from mobile or smartphone devices.

These are common challenges faced by many investigators. To address these issues therefore, investigators should updated with the new technology and software. learn appropriate skills required to investigate. Therefore, if anyone has problems they can follow the solutions below.

Solutions to Forensic Analysis of Mobile Device Problems

• For encryption cases, many forensic tools offer decryption facilities such as Cellebrite UFD and Magnet AXIOM. Seeking expert advice also used, but with proper legal permissions.
• As new devices and technology evolve, the investigator should stay about them regularly, which will help in their investigation.
• Since volatile storage space temporarily stores data, investigators should extract the data as soon as possible to preserve it. For example performing live data acquisition when the device is on and using tools to collect evidence while the device is running.
• Many software support cloud data extraction. if possible, secure legal authorization to access Cloud accounts using login credentials or account recovery methods.
• To avoid any legal actions, follow the legal protocols for data privacy and evidence handling. It is advisable to obtain proper warrants and permissions.

Professional investigators use these solutions to overcome challenges during their investigation. In India, the demand for mobile device forensic services is increasing as crimes related to phones rise. Many companies offer great services in this field including SysTools which will explained below.

SysTools Mobile Data Forensics Company

In the field of digital forensics services in India, SysTools is one of the top companies. The company provides all types of forensics services, such as drone forensics services for various drones related data, cyber crime investigations to analyze and mitigate the risk of cyber crime, forensic consulting services to give best consulting services, etc. It’s popularity is because of its forensics team containing India’s best forensic experts.

SysTools Digital Forensics Services helps in legal investigations, such as Income tax, GST, NCB, etc. and many large corporates also use their services in their problems. In mobile data forensics, SysTools offer services like someone spreads false rumors in the company’s premises from the smartphone. The company tracks the messages and finds the suspects who start the rumors. SysTools offers excellent facilities for all types of forensics services including mobile devices forensics.

Concluding Words

Using mobile devices to commit crime is becoming increasingly common, which has led to a rise in forensic analysis of mobile devices to help solve the crime. This article has explained everything related to mobile data analysis including its meaning, the need for services, the process, techniques, tools, challenges and solutions. We also discussed SysTools, a leading company in mobile forensics and other forensic services.