Your mobile knows a lot about you and that brings a number of business risks – security breaches from company data held in emails or business apps, for example. We highlight the data and security risks of the phone in your pocket. - See more at: http://www.grant-thornton.co.uk/en/Thinking/Beware-the-secrets-held-in-your-smartphone-/?previouspage=7260

1. © 2013 Grant Thornton UK LLP. All rights reserved.© 2013 Grant Thornton UK LLP. All rights reserved.
Smarter Than You Think -
a look at the evidence available from
smart phones and mobile devices
26 June 2013

2. Agenda
• Introduction
• Range of mobile devices available
• Types of data
• Case studies
• GPS and Geotagging

3. Agenda
• Mobile Apps
• The future of mobile devices
• Relationship with other digital
disciplines
• Questions?
• Recent press articles

4. Introduction

5. Mobile Devices
• Embedded and reliant on mobile devices in our
everyday lives – work, personal and leisure.
• Mobile devices often overlooked as a source of
potential evidence - awareness level for police
constabularies and criminal investigations.
• Individuals often unaware of hidden data stored!
• Example – Audience participation with BlackBerry
devices – Event Log

6. How else are mobile devices used?

7. Mobile Devices - Popularity
• Research Firm Gartner – Suggest PC's are on the
decline
• Not a dip caused by squeeze on household
incomes
• 1.9 billion mobile devices to be sold in 2013, where
1 billion estimated will be smart phones
• Social media access – Twitter feeds embedded
into Bloomberg terminals at traders desks. Goes
against the grain for reluctance of firms to allow
access

8. Manufacturers all have different OS causing
complicating forensic investigations

9. Why Mobile Device Investigations
• Criminal & civil law examples - murder, sexual
assault, violent crime, burglary, intent – sabotage
and collusion, illicit images of children, financial
fraud, commercial espionage, money laundering,
and HR related issues.
• Examinations need to be forensically sound to
stand up in court with robust procedures (ACPO
guidelines).
• Recovery of deleted data.
• Recovery of data from damaged mobile devices.

10. © 2013 Grant Thornton UK LLP. All rights reserved.
• SIM cards
• Mobile Phone
• Memory Card
• USB dongle
• Tablets
• Watch phone
Range of mobile devices & components

11. Why Mobile Device Investigations
• SIM cards – Subscriber data used to obtain billing
records, contacts, call data, text messages.
• Handset – Typically contacts, call logs, SMS text
messages, MMS, emails, Internet history, Social
Media, WiFi, Bluetooth, App data, Media (photos,
videos and audio), voicemails (selected smart
phones only), organiser information, eDocs,
metadata and custom dictionary.
• Memory cards – Typically media and backup of
phone data

12. Types of Data
User created

13. Computer versus the Smart Phone –
Any difference?

14. Case Studies

15. Examples
• Counterfeit and money laundering case – Suspect
unhelpful in investigation and unwilling to provide
handset code to device.
• Commercial espionage – Individual hid data on
memory card under phone casing.
• Intelligence – Individual identified with fake
passport at airport. Handset examined to assist in
identity.

16. GPS and Geotagging

17. Definitions and Problems
• Global Positioning System (GPS) – activated on
handset to locate geographical position.
• Geotagging – adding metadata to media file.
• How accurate especially in large cities?
• Security issues – giving away location?
• Social media issues – privacy and public domain?
• False GPS co-ordinates can be generated by user.
• Geotags can be edited to give false information.

18. How easy is it?

19. Hypothetical Situations?
• Possible to frame innocent parties eg loading
edited photo with fake co-ordinates to unsecured
phone or website and tip off police.
• Uploading of images to smart phone by military
personnel – subsequently transferred to social
media site. Potentially giving enemy access to
location.

20. Applications (Apps)

21. What is an App?
• An "App" is an application - software designed to
run on a mobile device with limited function.
• Shortcut to popular web based sites eg email.
• 50 Billion Apps have been downloaded from the
Apple store alone.
• Equates to 7 apps per person on the planet.
• 800 Apps per second are downloaded from Apple.
• Data can be forensically retrieved from some Apps
–but not all, due to the vast array encountered.

22. What information is held?
- Emails
- Location
- Social Media
- Personal information
- Degrees of contact
- Web-based data

23. Security Apps – problems for the investigator?
Applications
securing
transmission of
data to and from
the handset

24. The Future…..

25. Near Field Communication (NFC) – 4G handsets

26. Google Glasses
How will data be able
to be extracted and
forensically obtained?
Types of Data – GPS,
pairing with mobile
devices, microphone,
facial recognition?

27. Relationship with Computer Forensics
and eDisclosure

28. Computer Forensics
- Mobile devices
synchronised with
other electronic
devices
- Even without a
physical mobile device,
backups can exist on
PC's for examination
- Cloud based services

29. © 2013 Grant Thornton UK LLP. All rights reserved.
eDisclosure Trends
• Increasing use of social media
• Proactive information management
• Ever increasing volumes of data
• Further disparate sources of data
• Thousands of emails can be
extracted from smart phones –
easy method to screen data via
eDisclosure review platforms

30. © 2013 Grant Thornton UK LLP. All rights reserved.© 2013 Grant Thornton UK LLP. All rights reserved.
Any Questions?

31. UK Newspaper Articles
Examples of mobile devices and their
evidential use

32. Mobile Devices in the News – Extracts from the UK
Press

33. Mobile Devices in the News

34. Mobile Devices in the News

35. Mobile Devices in the News

36. Mobile Devices in the News

37. Mobile Devices in the News

38. Mobile Devices in the News

39. Mobile Devices in the News

40. Mobile Devices in the News

41. Mobile Devices in the News

42. Mobile Devices in the News

43. Mobile Devices in the News

44. Mobile Devices in the News

45. © 2013 Grant Thornton UK LLP. All rights reserved.
Contact
Chris Clements
Partner and Head of UK Regions
Forensic & Investigation Services
+44 (0) 7968 33 88 95
chris.m.clements@uk.gt.com
Bruce Keeble
Executive
Forensic & Investigation Services
+44 (0)7891 433 223
bruce.h.keeble@uk.gt.com