FBI says variety of software and limited memory pose challenges
Non-traditional communications devices such as smartphones and game consoles pose a particular problem to law enforcement agencies trying to milk them for forensic data that reveals criminal activity, attendees were told at the 2010 Computer Forensics Show in New York City. "Forensic tools for cell phones are in their infancy," says Stephen Riley, a forensic examiner with the FBI's Computer Analysis and Response Team. "There's lots of different carriers, different phones, different cables – just try to keep up."
Smartphones can communicate via SMS, MMS, mobile e-mail, mobile internet access, VoIP and traditional cellular voice networks, Riley says, making each machine a potential treasure trove of information but also a nightmare maze of possible proprietary technologies to unlock it.
Retrieving SMS messages can depend on the model of phone, the carrier, the time of day, even the country in which the phone is used. SIM cards removed from phones carry potentially useful forensic information, but unless it is associated with a particular phone's PIN, it's inaccessible. Perhaps the personal unlock feature controlled by phone manufacturers could release the data, but that requires knowing the make and model of the phone, he says The ready availability of cell phones is also a problem. Searches of suspects' residences can turn up drawers-full of cell phones that are no longer used but never thrown out. Yet they can demand valuable forensic time.
Game consoles pose a separate problem. They can be used to send e-mail and connect to the Internet but have very little internal memory so whatever is on the drive can be quickly over written and therefore gone forever, he says. "You can take a Wii onto the Internet and it doesn't save sites or browser history," he says. "If you type in a Web address and surf, 10 minutes later there's no record of it."
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