Leveraging Client-Side User Account Data in Digital Forensic Investigations

Leveraging Client-Side User Account Data in Digital Forensic Investigations

연구 분야: Analysis

학회: IFIP International Conference on Digital Forensics

Smartphones have become integral to daily routines, generating a wealth of user data with every interaction. Client-side data from smartphones is invaluable in digital forensic investigations, especially data generated while using social media apps and Google services. However, large volumes of the generated data – called user account data – are not stored on the mobile devices, but on enterprise servers. This chapter explores the user account data maintained by three prominent service providers, Meta Platforms, Google and Microsoft, and highlights its pivotal role in digital forensic investigations. Additionally, the chapter describes the Information Extraction and Collation Tool, an automated solution designed to extract relevant information from large user account datasets. The tool facilitates comparisons with data from other users, enabling the identification of shared activities and enhancing the efficiency of investigations.