Law-enforcement technologyMobile phone forensic tools to reduce hi-tech crimes
Government funded technology center in India is developing a set of mobile forensic tools that will assist the law enforcement agencies in cracking unlawful activities committed using mobile phones; the center is a government agency, and will be able to provide the tools at reasonable cost
The Center for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC), located in Trivandrum, India, is a federal agency which pioneers cyber forensics. It will be developing a set of mobile forensic tools that will assist the law enforcement agencies in cracking unlawful activities committed using mobile phones.
The alarming increase in hi-tech crimes committed using mobile phones has prompted the agency to develop effective mobile forensic tool. Its cyber forensics wing has been already assisting investigators in digging out hidden information from computers and storage devices in various sensational cases.
iStockAnalyst reports that sources said that CDAC will be developing hardware equipments as well as software for mobile forensics. The biggest challenge will be to bring out mobile forensic tools at par with the advanced mobile phone technologies.
“The mobile phone technology is growing at a fast pace. If credit and debit cards had been replacing currency notes, mobile phones are emerging as a substitute to the plastic currency. With an enhancement in the mobile phone applications, the risk of mobile phone related crimes will also increase simultaneously. In such a scenario, mobile forensics assumes greater significance,” sources pointed out.
CDAC is planning to bring out a set of mobile forensic tools that will be compatible with the latest 3G technology. Though several mobile forensic applications developed by private parties are available in the market these days, they are quite costly. Moreover, with the fast advancement in technologies, these tools also require constant updating. CDAC is a government agency, and will be able to provide the tools at reasonable cost.
Mobile forensics assumes much significance in a state like Kerala where mobile phone density has already crossed twenty million, which is more than two-third of the state’s population. Many banks have already introduced facilities to operate bank transaction using mobile phones.
The state has been already witnessing a series of mobile phone-related crimes. The state already has a full fledged Hi-Tech Crime Inquiry Cell attached to the Police Headquarters to probe into hi-tech crimes committed using mobile phones as well as cyber crime.
The cell now depends on private mobile forensic tools. Once CDAC brings out the mobile forensic tools, the State Police will be able to make use it. The Kerala Police had earlier associated with the CDAC in the field of cyber forensics.
The CDAC has already developed several cyber tools. They include “TRUEBACK” and “CYBERCHECK,” which help investigators of cyber offences to seize as well as analyze digital evidence from a scene of crime, which could range from hacking of a security system to faking of currency.
