Toward a general collection methodology for Android devices

The Android platform has been deployed across a wide range of devices, predominately mobile phones, bringing unprecedented common software features to a diverse set of devices independent of carrier and manufacturer. Modern digital forensics processes differentiate collection and analysis, with collection ideally only occurring once and the subsequent analysis relying upon proper collection. After exploring special device boot modes and Android’s partitioning schema we detail the composition of an Android bootable image and discuss the creation of such an image designed for forensic collection. The major contribution of this paper is a general process for data collection of Android devices and related results of experiments carried out on several specific devices.     

A study of user data integrity during acquisition of Android devices

At the time of this writing, Android devices are widely used, and many studies considering methods of forensic acquisition of data from Android devices have been conducted. Similarly, a diverse collection of smartphone forensic tools has also been introduced. However, studies conducted thus far do not normally guarantee data integrity required for digital forensic investigations. Therefore, this work uses a previously proposed method of Android device acquisition utilizing ‘Recovery Mode’. This work evaluates Android Recovery Mode variables that potentially compromise data integrity at the time of data acquisition. Based on the conducted analysis, an Android data acquisition tool that ensures the integrity of acquired data is developed, which is demonstrated in a case study to test tool's ability to preserve data integrity.     

Forensic analysis of social networking applications on mobile devices

The increased use of social networking applications on smartphones makes these devices a goldmine for forensic investigators. Potential evidence can be held on these devices and recovered with the right tools and examination methods. This paper focuses on conducting forensic analyses on three widely used social networking applications on smartphones: Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace. The tests were conducted on three popular smartphones: BlackBerrys, iPhones, and Android phones. The tests consisted of installing the social networking applications on each device, conducting common user activities through each application, acquiring a forensically sound logical image of each device, and performing manual forensic analysis on each acquired logical image. The forensic analyses were aimed at determining whether activities conducted through these applications were stored on the device's internal memory. If so, the extent, significance, and location of the data that could be found and retrieved from the logical image of each device were determined. The results show that no traces could be recovered from BlackBerry devices. However, iPhones and Android phones store a significant amount of valuable data that could be recovered and used by forensic investigators.     

An Android Communication App Forensic Taxonomy

Due to the popularity of Android devices and applications (apps), Android forensics is one of the most studied topics within mobile forensics. Communication apps, such as instant messaging and Voice over IP (VoIP), are one popular app category used by mobile device users, including criminals. Therefore, a taxonomy outlining artifacts of forensic interest involving the use of Android communication apps will facilitate the timely collection and analysis of evidentiary materials from such apps. In this paper, 30 popular Android communication apps were examined, where a logical extraction of the Android phone images was collected using XRY, a widely used mobile forensic tool. Various information of forensic interest, such as contact lists and chronology of messages, was recovered. Based on the findings, a two‐dimensional taxonomy of the forensic artifacts of the communication apps is proposed, with the app categories in one dimension and the classes of artifacts in the other dimension. Finally, the artifacts identified in the study of the 30 communication apps are summarized using the taxonomy. It is expected that the proposed taxonomy and the forensic findings in this paper will assist forensic investigations involving Android communication apps.     

We are meeting on Microsoft Teams: Forensic analysis in Windows,Android, and iOS operating systems

Microsoft released a new communication platform, Microsoft Teams, in 2017. Due in part to COVID-19, the popularity of communication platforms, like Microsoft Teams, increased exponentially. Given its user base and increased popularity, it seems likely that digital forensic investigators will encounter cases where Microsoft Teams is a relevant component. However, because Microsoft Teams is a relatively new application, there is limited forensic research on the application particularly focusing on mobile operating systems. To address this gap, an analysis of data stored at rest by Microsoft Teams was conducted on the Windows 10 operating system as well as on Android and Apple iOS mobile operating systems. Basic functionalities, such as messaging, sharing files, participating in video conferences, and other functionalities that Teams provides, were performed in an isolated testing environment. Cellebrite UFED Physical Analyzer and Magnet AXIOM Examine tools were used to analyze the mobile devices and the Windows device, respectively. Manual or non-automated investigation recovered, at least partially, the majority of artifacts across all three operating systems. In this study, a total of 77.6% of the populated artifacts were partially or fully recovered in the manual investigation. On the other hand, forensic tools used did not automatically recover many of the artifacts found with the manual investigation. Only 13.8% of artifacts were partially or fully recovered by the forensic tools across all three devices. These discovered artifacts and the results of the investigations are presented in order to aid digital forensic investigations.     

Android智能手机的取证

作为一种新兴的智能手机,Android手机发展势头极为迅猛,并越来越多的受到人们的关注。通过对Android智能手机的取证研究,在介绍了Android手机的基本工作原理后,详细描述了取证方式。通过Android SDK工具对手机内外置存储进行镜像备份,逻辑分析利用文件系统分析,查找每个应用程序自带的数据库文件来获得有价值信息,物理分析通过对内存镜像进行数据恢复以寻找删除的文件,两者互相结合。结果表明,能够从Android手机中有效寻找到潜在证据。     

Android anti-forensics through a local paradigm

Mobile devices are among the most disruptive technologies of the last years, gaining even more diffusion and success in the daily life of a wide range of people categories. Unfortunately, while the number of mobile devices implicated in crime activities is relevant and growing, the capability to perform the forensic analysis of such devices is limited both by technological and methodological problems. In this paper, we focus on Anti-Forensic techniques applied to mobile devices, presenting some fully automated instances of such techniques to Android devices. Furthermore, we tested the effectiveness of such techniques versus both the cursory examination of the device and some acquisition tools.     

Construction of a roller device for the collection of hair and fiber evidence.

The discovery of hair and fiber evidence can be of critical importance in the investigation of crimes, particularly violent crimes. A procedure is described for the construction and assembly of a roller device that utilizes readily available components and single-sided adhesive tape. The advantages over previously described roller devices include decreases in both the potential for contamination and the time required for construction of the device, as well as the ability to disinfect all of the roller components.     

Placing the suspect at a PC: A preliminary study involving fingerprints on keyboards and mice

Digital devices now play an important role in the lives of many in society. Whilst they are used predominantly for legitimate purposes, instances of digital crime are witnessed, where determining their usage is important to any criminal investigation. Typically, when determining who has used a digital device, digital forensic analysis is utilised, however, biological trace evidence or fingerprints residing on its surfaces may also be of value. This work provides a preliminary study which examines the potential for fingerprint recovery from computer peripherals, namely keyboards and mice. Our implementation methodology is outlined, and results discussed which indicate that print recovery is possible. Findings are intended to support those operating at-scene in an evidence collection capacity.     

Android forensics: Automated data collection and reporting from a mobile device

In this research, a prototype enterprise monitoring system for Android smartphones was developed to continuously collect many data sets of interest to incident responders, security auditors, proactive security monitors, and forensic investigators. Many of the data sets covered were not found in other available enterprise monitoring tools. The prototype system neither requires root privileges nor the exploiting of the Android architecture for proper operation, thereby increasing interoperability among Android devices and avoiding a spyware classification for the system. An anti-forensics analysis on the system was performed to identify and further strengthen areas vulnerable to tampering. The contributions of this research include the release of the first open-source Android enterprise monitoring solution of its kind, a comprehensive guide of data sets available for collection without elevated privileges, and the introduction of a novel design strategy implementing various Android application components useful for monitoring on the Android platform.     

Unmanned aerial vehicles: A preliminary analysis of forensic challenges

As unmanned aerial vehicles have become more affordable, their popularity with the general public and commercial organisations has seen significant growth in recent years. Whilst remaining a device for both the hobbyist and aircraft-enthusiast to enjoy, they are now also used for carrying out activities such as law enforcement surveillance, agricultural maintenance, acquiring specialist movie and sports event footage along with search and seizure activities. Conversely, despite maintaining many legitimate uses, there are also increasing media reports of unmanned aerial vehicle technology being abused, ranging from physical assaults due to negligent flights to breaches of Civil Aviation Authority Air Navigation Regulations, requiring a forensic analysis of these devices in order to establish the chain of events. This article presents an introductory discussion of unmanned aerial vehicle analysis and provides the results of a digital forensic investigation of a test Parrot Bebop unmanned aerial vehicle. Directions for the acquisition and analysis of the device's internal storage are provided along with an interpretation of on-board flight data, captured media and operating system. Further, as the device can be controlled via Android and iOS devices using the application FreeFlight3, forensic analysis of these devices is also presented. Results showed the ability to recover flight data from both the unmanned aerial vehicle and controller handsets along with captured media, however problems exist with establishing the definitive owner of the device, particularly if a user had abandoned it at the scene of a crime.     

Pacemaker/defibrillator evaluation at Los Angeles County Department of Coroner*

Pacemakers and implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) are implanted medical devices for the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias. These devices are now commonly encountered in the postmortem situation. The Los Angeles County Department of the Coroner uses the services of a cardiac electrophysiology consultant to interrogate pacemakers and ICDs, producing a detailed picture of the cardiac events recorded by the device. We have used this method to evaluate 20 cases where the ICD or pacemaker provided significant information. We report four forensic cases to illustrate the different applications of pacemaker interrogation and its contribution in forensic investigation. This technique was used to establish identification of the decedent, to determine the cause and time of death, and to determine whether device malfunction could have played a role in the death. We conclude that detailed evaluation of the pacemaker or ICD in selected cases may provide essential information to the forensic pathologist.     

QQ取证及其司法鉴定方法研究

简要介绍QQ取证及其司法鉴定研究的发展现状。分析QQ消息传输协议、数据库文件结构、Msg2.0.db文件的加密机制,重点研究QQ聊天记录及其他证据信息获取的思路和方法。在结合QQ取证鉴定案例的基础上,提出将手机与QQ进行融合取证的新思路,并对QQ取证及其司法鉴定的发展方向进行展望。     

The Linux FAT32 allocator and file creation order reconstruction

The allocation algorithm of the Linux FAT32 file system driver positions files on disk in such a way that their relative positions reveal information on the order in which these files have been created. This provides an opportunity to enrich information from (carved) file fragments with time information, even when such file fragments lack the file system metadata in which time-related information is usually to be found.Through source code analysis and experiments the behaviour of the Linux FAT allocator is examined. How an understanding of this allocator can be applied in practice is demonstrated with a case study involving a TomTom GPS car navigation device. In this case, time information played a crucial role. Large amounts of location records could be carved from this device's flash storage, yielding insight into the locations the device has visited—yet the carved records themselves offered no information on when the device had been at the locations. Still, bounds on the records' time of creation could be inferred when making use of filesystem timestamps related to neighbouring on-disk positions.Finally, we perform experiments which contrast the Linux behaviour with that of Windows 7. We show that the latter differs subtly, breaking the strong relation between creation order and position.     

Triaging digital device content at-scene:- Formalising the decision-making process

The prominence of technology usage in society has inevitably led to increasing numbers of digital devices being seized, where digital evidence often features in criminal investigations. Such demand has led to well documented backlogs placing pressure on digital forensic labs, where in an effort to combat this issue, the ‘at-scene triage’ of devices has been touted as a solution. Yet such triage approaches are not straightforward to implement with multiple technical and procedural issues existing, including determining when it is actually appropriate to triage the contents of a device at-scene. This work remains focused on this point due to the complexities associated with it, and to support first responders a nine-stage triage decision model is offered which is designed to promote consistent and transparent practice when determining if a device should be triaged.     

Digital evidence and the crime scene

Many criminal investigations maintain an element of digital evidence, where it is the role of the first responder in many cases to both identify its presence at any crime scene, and assess its worth. Whilst in some instances the existence and role of a digital device at-scene may be obvious, in others, the first responder will be required to evaluate whether any ‘digital opportunities’ exist which could support their inquiry, and if so, where these are. This work discusses the potential presence of digital evidence at crime scenes, approaches to identifying it and the contexts in which it may exist, focusing on the investigative opportunities that devices may offer. The concept of digital devices acting as ‘digital witnesses’ is proposed, followed by an examination of potential ‘digital crime scene’ scenarios and strategies for processing them.     

Forensic acquisition and analysis of palm webOS on mobile devices

The emergence of webOS on Palm devices has created new challenges and opportunities for digital investigators. With the purchase of Palm by Hewlett Packard, there are plans to use webOS on an increasing number and variety of computer systems. These devices can store substantial amounts of information relevant to an investigation, including digital photographs, videos, call logs, SMS/MMS messages, e-mail, remnants of Web browsing and much more. Although some files can be obtained from such devices with relative ease, the majority of information of forensic interest is stored in databases on a system partition that many mobile forensic tools do not acquire. This paper provides a methodology for acquiring and examining forensic duplicates of user and system partitions from a device running webOS. The primary sources of digital evidence on these devices are covered with illustrative examples. In addition, the recovery of deleted items from various areas on webOS devices is discussed.     

A methodology for the security evaluation within third-party Android Marketplaces

This paper aims to evaluate possible threats with unofficial Android marketplaces, and geo-localize the malware distribution over three main regions: China; Europe; and Russia. It provides a comprehensive review of existing academic literature about security in Android focusing especially on malware detection systems and existing malware databases. Through the implementation of a methodology for identification of malicious applications it has been collected data revealing a 5% of them as malicious in an overall analysis. Furthermore, the analysis shown that Russia and Europe have a preponderance of generic detections and adware, while China is found to be targeted mainly by riskware and malware.     

Forensic Taxonomy of Android Social Apps

An Android social app taxonomy incorporating artifacts that are of forensic interest will enable users and forensic investigators to identify the personally identifiable information (PII) stored by the apps. In this study, 30 popular Android social apps were examined. Artifacts of forensic interest (e.g., contacts lists, chronology of messages, and timestamp of an added contact) were recovered. In addition, images were located, and Facebook token strings used to tie account identities and gain access to information entered into Facebook by a user were identified. Based on the findings, a two‐dimensional taxonomy of the forensic artifacts of the social apps is proposed. A comparative summary of existing forensic taxonomies of different categories of Android apps, designed to facilitate timely collection and analysis of evidentiary materials from Android devices, is presented.     

Remote Wiping and Secure Deletion on Mobile Devices: A Review

Mobile devices have become ubiquitous in almost every sector of both private and commercial endeavors. As a result of such widespread use in everyday life, many users knowingly and unknowingly save significant amounts of personal and/or commercial data on these mobile devices. Thus, loss of mobile devices through accident or theft can expose users—and their businesses—to significant personal and corporate cost. To mitigate this data leakage issue, remote wiping features have been introduced to modern mobile devices. Given the destructive nature of such a feature, however, it may be subject to criminal exploitation (e.g., a criminal exploiting one or more vulnerabilities to issue a remote wiping command to the victim's device). To obtain a better understanding of remote wiping, we survey the literature, focusing on existing approaches to secure flash storage deletion and provide a critical analysis and comparison of a variety of published research in this area. In support of our analysis, we further provide prototype experimental results for three Android devices, thus providing both a theoretical and applied focus to this article as well as providing directions for further research.