Intermediate Mobile Device Repair

Background

Android and iOS devices typically need to be in a bootable state in order for data to be extracted using commercial forensic tools. Digital forensic units routinely encounter devices which are sufficiently damaged that extraction cannot take place – the device either fails to start at all or repeatedly displays the Apple logo (a “boot loop”). Although the replacement of broken screens and batteries within digital forensic units has become widespread, a subset of damaged devices require more complex fault-finding and repair techniques.

Course aims

The printed circuit board (PCB) within a mobile device is home to many tiny electronic components which work together to ensure that the device can boot and function normally. The failure of a single component on the PCB (for example, due to excess power) may lead to the device not powering at all, or “boot looping”.

Intermediate Mobile Device Repair is a 4½ day course designed to teach delegates how to identify and repair common board-level faults. Delegates will learn how to recognise components on a PCB and determine whether they have failed. They will then learn micro-soldering techniques to remove or replace faulty components in order to return a device to a bootable condition such that data can be extracted.

Delegates will gain vital hands-on experience of interpreting circuit board schematics and utilising them to locate short circuits which can then be repaired.

Delegates will primarily be working on iPhones during the course, however the techniques taught can also be used to troubleshoot and repair Android devices.

What you will learn

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

  • Identify specific components on a printed circuit board (PCB) and explain their function
  • Successfully diagnose PCB-level faults which prevent data extraction
  • Replace faulty PCB components including screen, touch and data port connectors
  • Diagnose and resolve short circuits on a PCB
  • Explain & justify their actions in court

Who should attend?

Delegates must have previous experience of mobile device repair and soldering. Ideally this will have been achieved by attending our Mobile Device Repair course.

Intermediate Mobile Device Repair sits alongside our Rework for Mobile Device Repair course. The fault-finding skills required to identify faulty chips is taught on Intermediate Mobile Device Repair – the replacement of those chips using hot air techniques is taught on Rework for Mobile Device Repair. Digital forensic units will gain maximum benefit where staff have attended Intermediate Mobile Device Repair and Rework for Mobile Device Repair.

Foundation in Securing Computer Evidence

Background

Securing computer-based evidence is no longer simply a case of “pulling the plug” and imaging hard disk drives back in the office. The use of cloud storage, encryption and non-removable storage are commonplace and mean that a more considered and multi-pronged approach to acquiring data is required. Without a clear understanding of the way in which devices store digital data both locally and remotely, vital evidence can easily be missed, lost or altered during the acquisition process.

In addition to the technical complexities presented by current devices, the overwhelming volume of digital forensic submissions being made increases the need for triage-based approaches to assist in prioritising exhibits for analysis.

Course aims

Foundation in Securing Computer Evidence is a 4½ day hands-on course designed to teach delegates how to acquire data from a wide range of devices, whilst either powered on at a search scene or powered down back in the office. Delegates will learn how to image traditional spinning disk hard drives, SSDs and USB storage devices using established imaging tools but will also learn:

  • “Live forensic” techniques to acquire volatile RAM data, open encrypted containers and data held on cloud storage
  • “On-device imaging” techniques for dealing with storage devices which cannot or should not be removed from the host device (e.g. devices running Apple’s APFS file system, RAID configurations etc.)
  • Triage techniques for rapid identification of case-related material held on computer storage

What you will learn

By the end of the course, delegates will be able to:

  • Confidently secure evidence from a range of removable computer storage media in accordance with ACPO Principles of Computer Based Digital Evidence and ISO17025
  • Use a Linux boot disk to secure evidence from a computer whose storage media is difficult to remove or cryptographically bound to the host device
  • Perform on-scene capture of live data from device RAM, open encrypted local storage or cloud storage
  • Use forensic triage tools to identify relevant content in order to prioritise computer exhibits for evidential analysis
  • Explain and justify their actions in court

Who should attend?

This entry-level course is targeted at practitioners who are new to computer acquisition or existing staff who have not had the benefit of formal training. The course is designed to meet the needs of both lab-based staff as well as those required to secure evidence at a search scene.

Smartphone App Forensics

Background

Smartphone and tablet devices submitted to forensic units present a veritable treasure trove of potential evidence generated through the use of pre-installed “1st party” and user-installed 3rd party apps. Unfortunately the relentless evolution of new and existing 3rd party apps means that commercial forensic tools cannot realistically decode, interpret and report all of the data of interest to investigators.

Course aims

Android and iOS platforms both make extensive use of SQLite, a free open-source database platform, to store data relating to first and third party apps. Analysis of SQLite databases can recover live and deleted data as well as often overlooked binary data such as thumbnail images. In addition to SQLite databases, iOS devices make use of Property List (plist) files to store application data and mobile forensic examiners need to be skilled in analysing and reporting data from both file formats.

Smartphone App Forensics is a 4½ day course designed to teach delegates how to recover evidence from smartphone and tablet applications. This includes first party apps, but the emphasis will be on developing skills and techniques for working with 3rd party apps which are unsupported by commercial forensic tools. Delegates will gain experience of working with data recovered from iOS and Android devices.

What you will learn

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

  • Use appropriate tools to view and recover evidence from SQLite databases and Property List (plist) files
  • Locate, view & recover evidence from Property List (plist) files used by iOS and associated applications
  • Recover & interpret web browsing artefacts from smartphone devices
  • Manually decode smartphone apps
  • Explain and justify their actions in court

Who should attend?

This course is targeted at existing phone examiners who have at least 6 months experience in phone forensics. Ideally, delegates would have previously attended the Control-F Foundation in Mobile Phone Forensics (or equivalent).

Python Scripting 1

3 days

Course aims

As digital  forensic  examiners expand their knowledge and understanding of forensic artefacts within PCs, mobile phones and other devices, so they repeatedly encounter key evidence which is not appropriately reported by commercial forensic tools. ‘Python Scripting 1’ is a 3 day course designed to teach students how to start writing simple scripts in Python with a strong emphasis on those aspects of the language which are relevant to digital forensics.

What you will learn

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

  • Write short Python scripts to open and process files of evidential interest
  • Write short Python scripts to recover thumbnail images from input files
  • Write short Python scripts to recover evidence from SQLite databases
  • Write short Python scripts to produce text and comma separated value (CSV) output

Who should attend?

The course assumes no prior knowledge of Python or any previous programming experience; however delegates must have previous experience of working with raw (hex) data and be confident navigating such data within a hex editor.

Advanced Smartphone and Tablet Acquisition

Background

The prevalence of smartphone and tablet devices is a mixed blessing for digital forensic units. On the one hand, iPhone, iPad and Android devices can provide a wealth of information about the owner’s communication, associates and whereabouts; but at the same time the built-in security mechanisms provided by such devices often present a significant challenge.

Course aims

Many Android apps exclude themselves from the backup mechanisms used by commercial forensic tools and additionally, device manufacturers and 3rd party app developers provide easy to use app protection and data hiding features. It is increasingly important that mobile forensic examiners can assess the completeness of extractions and take necessary steps to recover missing, hidden or protected data.

Not only is data being more tightly secured within mobile devices, increasing amounts of data are being stored in the cloud, either by the device itself or by apps installed on it. Today’s forensic examiners need to be aware of the breadth and depth of data held within the cloud and how it can be recovered for evidential use.

Advanced Smartphone & Tablet Acquisition is a 4½ day course designed to teach attendees how to ensure maximum evidence recovery. Delegates will learn how to identify and recover evidence from encrypted PC backups of iOS devices and use the Google Android SDK to recover data from any Android device. Importantly, delegates will gain hands-on experience in recovering data for apps such as WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger which exclude themselves from the backup process as well as techniques for dealing with data hiding mechanisms including Samsung Secure Folder and Huawei PrivateSpace. In addition to device extraction techniques, delegates will gain practical experience in the potential benefits of, and obstacles to, recovering cloud-based data.

What you will learn

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

  • Use adb commands to connect to, and recover data from Android devices
  • Crack passwords for “secure” applications using custom wordlists
  • Use data from the iOS keychain to decrypt data from vault & secure messaging apps
  • Identify the use of data hiding techniques on Android devices which may prevent data extraction via forensic tools
  • Explain & justify your actions in court

Who should attend?

This course is targeted at existing phone examiners who have at least 6 months experience in mobile device forensics. Ideally, delegates would have previously attended the Control-F Foundation in Mobile Phone Forensics (or equivalent).

Foundation in Mobile Phone Forensics

Course information

This 4½ day, entry level course is targeted at those just starting out in mobile forensics, or existing mobile device examiners who have not had the benefit of formal training.

Course aims

Foundation in Mobile Phone Forensics is a 4½ day training course designed to teach prospective or existing mobile phone examiners how to examine mobile devices in accordance with the ACPO Principles of Digital Computer Based Evidence. Without appropriate training, there is a significant risk that evidence may be lost or altered during the examination process, or that the examiner is discredited in court. The course will provide delegates with exposure to, and hands-on experience with, market leading phone forensic tools.

What you will learn

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

  • Safely retrieve evidence from SIM cards, mobile phone handsets and memory cards using forensic software tools
  • Identify key potential evidence which is not recovered by software tools and capture it in an appropriate way
  • Implement or enhance local standard operating procedures for the examination of mobile devices within their organisation
  • Explain and justify their actions in court

Who should attend?

This entry level course is targeted at those just starting out in mobile phone forensics, or existing mobile phone examiners who have not had the benefit of formal training.