Challenges With Mobile Technology

What are some specific challenges that investigators face with mobile technology?

There are a number of hardware manufacturers and a handful of popular operating systems. Depending on the device, the hardware interface may require a special cable only used for that version of that device. Your forensic toolkit must contain a variety of cables (including some that may no longer be commonly used) to connect to mobile devices.

Operating system versions also change frequently. A specific version of a hardware device from a manufacturer such as Apple may support many versions of the Apple iOS operating system. However, there is no way to tell what version of the OS a device may have by knowing the hardware version and manufacturer.

Forensic software and hardware often lag behind the latest and greatest mobile devices. How does an investigator prevent the owner of the device from remotely wiping or controlling device content while the device is in the possession of the investigator? Is this a real concern?

How can you analyze the device if the entire device is encrypted and protected by a passcode?

Conduct some timely research to find the latest information. The answers to each of these questions change from year to year, and it is important for the digital forensics investigator to be aware of the potential obstacles that may exist as mobile devices are continually updated and the device security mechanisms become harder to access, even for trained examiners.