BATTLEFIELD DIGITAL FORENSICS

·PORTABLE laptops, tablets, smartphones, cell phones, game consoles, GPS devices, smartwatches and other
portable devices that have their own operating system able to communicate or connect over the network or
Internet.
·NON-PORTABLE desktops, servers, disk array or RAID solutions or network device/appliance.
In addition to the above, any of the following may be important to collect for later evaluation:
handwritten notes
personal organisers, desk or personal calendars, address books
potential usernames, passwords, e-mail addresses, web sites and IP addresses written on scraps of paper
in the strike area
8.2 Very Portable Media and Electronic Devices Collection
The first category from Flowchart 3 includes different types of small electronic devices that may store data in
digital form and are easily portable. Examples are media cards (SD, SIM, flash), USB thumb drives, optical media
(CD, DVD, Blu-ray), digital cameras, MP3 players, external hard drives, tape and cartridge storage. 32 The unique
thing about these types of removable media is that the information written to them is not lost or deleted when
the power to them is disconnected.
Devices from this category are usually small devices and may not always be available in the information
processing device or in its vicinity. They are often retained by the user or are stored off-site, and may be
overlooked in the identification phase if they are not immediately identified. As technology changes, there will
be newer and different types of removable media and it is essential that SOF operators keep up-to-date with
this changing area.
Their collection consists of documenting the devices (photograph or video) and proper packing into paper
evidence bags or anti-static evidence bags. Be careful not to scratch optical media during seizure.
8.3 Portable Devices Collection
Flowchart 4 shows the process of collecting portable devices. These devices are able to store, process and
transfer digital data. This category includes laptops, tablets and different types of mobile devices such as
smartphones, cell phones, PDA, GPS devices, smartwatch, etc.
32 Be aware also of legacy media such as floppy disks.
43