NIST releases draft on cell phone forensics

Guidelines on Cell Phone Forensics

The National Institutes of Standards and Technology has released new draft guidelines for recovering data evidence from mobile phones. The draft covers phones with features that are “beyond simple voice communication and text messaging and their technical and operating characteristics,” NIST said.

The guide outlines some of the reported examples of evidence, including text message logs and location tracking, and ways to access material, such as studying software authentication weaknesses, identifying and examining cell phone memory cards, and asking service providers for additional information about a phone. The guide also breaks down the memory structure of cell phones and call data analysis.

The guide is intended “help organizations evolve appropriate policies and procedures for dealing with cell phones” and to help forensics specialists “contend with new circumstances involving cell phones, when they are encountered.”

The guidelines are not all-inclusive, NIST said.

Comments on the draft can be sent to sp800-101@nist.gov by Oct. 30, with "Comments SP800-95” in the subject line.