Smartphones often act as a hub, communicating with other devices such as cars and wearables. If a smartphone is inaccessible, investigators can turn to these alternative data sources. For instance, logs from a car's in-vehicle infotainment and telematics system might reveal the device's pairing history, GPS coordinates, or timestamps of interactions. Similarly, data from wearable devices or associated cloud accounts can provide valuable insights. IoT devices like home security cameras and smart speakers also interact with smartphones and can store fragments of relevant data. This interconnectedness of devices contributes to the larger web of evidence in digital forensic investigations.
Key takeaways:
- The Department of Defense Cyber Crime Center is leveraging AI and alternative data sources like car in-vehicle telematics and wearable devices for digital forensics, especially when smartphones are inaccessible.
- AI and machine learning technologies are helping investigators to analyze vast volumes of digital evidence, automate data analysis, identify patterns, and highlight anomalies quickly and accurately.
- Modern cars and wearable technologies are becoming significant sources of digital evidence, storing granular details like trip histories, speed, braking patterns, door activity, health metrics, location data, and app activity.
- Even if a smartphone is inaccessible, data can be recovered from other IoT devices and online accounts associated with them, underscoring the interconnectedness of digital evidence across multiple devices.