A Comparison of Geo-tagging in Mobile Internet Browsing Applications on iOS and Android.

Nowadays there is almost no crime committed without a trace of digital evidence, and since the advanced functionality of mobile devices today can be exploited to assist in crime, the need for mobile forensics is imperative. Many of the mobile applications available today, including internet browsers, will request the user’s permission to access their current location when in use. This geolocation data is subsequently stored and managed by that application's underlying database files. If recovered from a device during a forensic investigation, such GPS evidence and track points could hold major evidentiary value for a case. The aim of this paper is to examine and compare to what extent geolocation data is available from the iOS and Android operating systems. We focus particularly on geolocation data recovered from internet browsing applications, comparing the native Safari and Browser apps with Google Chrome, downloaded on to both platforms. All browsers were used over a period of several days at various locations to generate comparable test data for analysis. Results show considerable differences not only in the storage locations and formats, but also in the amount of geolocation data stored by different browsers and on different operating systems.

From crime to court - an experience report of a digital forensics group project module.

This paper discusses the large-scale group project undertaken by BSc Hons Digital Forensics students at Abertay University in their penultimate year. The philosophy of the project is to expose students to the full digital crime "life cycle", from commission through investigation, preparation of formal court report and finally, to prosecution in court. In addition, the project is novel in two aspects; the "crimes" are committed by students, and the moot court proceedings, where students appear as expert witnesses for the prosecution, are led by law students acting as counsels for the prosecution and defence. To support students, assessments are staged across both semesters with staff feedback provided at critical points. Feedback from students is very positive, highlighting particularly the experience of engaging with the law students and culminating in the realistic moot court, including a challenging cross-examination. Students also commented on the usefulness of the final debrief, where the whole process and the student experience is discussed in an informal plenary meeting between DF students and staff, providing an opportunity for the perpetrators and investigators to discuss details of the "crimes", and enabling all groups to learn from all crimes and investigations. We conclude with a reflection on the challenges encountered and a discussion of planned changes.