Today's smartphones are used less for calling and more for socializing; this has resulted in smartphones holding a lot of sensitive data about their users. Mobile devices keep the user's contacts from a variety of sources (including the phone, social networks, instant messaging, and communication applications), information about phone calls, sent and received text messages, and e-mails and attachments. There are also browser logs and cached geolocation information; pictures and videos taken with the phone's camera; passwords to cloud services, forums, social networks, online portals, and shopping websites; stored payment data; and a lot of other information that can be vital for an investigation.
Needless to say, this information is very important for corporate and forensic investigations. In this book, we'll discuss not only how to gain access to all this data, but also what type of data may be available in each particular case.
Tablets are no longer used solely as entertainment devices. Equipped with powerful processors and plenty of storage, even the smallest tablets are capable of running full Windows, complete with the Office suite. While not as popular as smartphones, tablets are still widely used to socialize, communicate, plan events, and book trips.
Some smartphones are equipped with screens as large as 6.4 inches, while many tablets come with the ability to make voice calls over cellular network. All this makes it difficult to draw a line between a phone (or phablet) and a tablet.
Every smartphone on the market has a camera that, unlike a bigger (and possibly better) camera, is always accessible. As a result, an average smartphone contains more photos and videos than a dedicated camera, sometimes, gigabytes of images and video clips.
Smartphones are also storage devices. They can be used (and are used) to keep, carry, and exchange information. Smartphones connected to a corporate network may have access to files and documents not meant to be exposed. Uncontrolled access to corporate networks from employees' smartphones can (and does) cause leaks of highly-sensitive information. Employees come and go. With many companies allowing or even encouraging bring your own device policies, controlling the data that is accessible to those connecting to a corporate network is essential.