iPhone Tracking for reconstruction?

[Bob Anderson]

That iPhone in Your Pocket Is Tracking Your Every Move

LOS ANGELES, April 24, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- "iPhones record every step you take and when you took it," says Mark McLaughlin of Los Angeles based Computer Forensics International. "Armed with that location data, examiners can draw a Google map of the route you took and the exact time you were there, down to the second." iPhones are the premier member of the smartphone family that record bucket loads of data and are built on a mobile computing platform.

The iPhone's location data is automatically captured from two sources; nearby cellphone tower sites and any wireless data network - like the Wifi network at your local Starbucks. Unfortunately for the iPhone's owner, this data collection feature can only be stopped by turning off the phone's wireless transmit and receive capability - also referred to as airplane mode. However, the previously recorded data will still be there and will be recoverable. iPads use the same location tracking technology.

Digital forensic examiners like McLaughlin, routinely use cutting edge software tools when analyzing iPhones and other smartphones on civil and criminal cases. They start by first making an exact copy of the phone's entire memory - which includes active and deleted data. Then the copy is searched either visually or by using keywords for relevant evidence to the case.

This data can be a boon for attorneys and investigators working on civil and criminal cases. It could provide the corroboration to put a cheating spouse at a specific residence when they should have been at work. Or it could be used to tie individuals together in a criminal conspiracy where they otherwise couldn't be connected.

McLaughlin says, "This location data capture shouldn't be a problem for most iPhone owners. But if you're trying to hide where you've been, leave the iPhone at home."

SOURCE Computer Forensics International
Copyright (C) 2012 PR Newswire. All rights reserved

[Rb15026]

My Intell/OC unit has this ability to do it now. The "kit" looks alot like the CDR kit with all the cables and, is about $5000.00 and the software updates are $500.00 a year. We use it more for seeing who called and data exchange. In Arkansas it still takes a search warrant to grab the data. All this stuff is making it really hard for me to hide the bodies (JK)

[Momo]

McLaughlin says, "This location data capture shouldn't be a problem for most iPhone owners. But if you're trying to hide where you've been, leave the iPhone at home."

Breaking news!!! Heh... Big Bro is always watching you. One more proof

[Chris quammen]

Can this be used to estimate speed?

[Hebert]

Can this be used to estimate speed?

Assuming the system works as Bob's article described:

(clip) "iPhones record every step you take and when you took it," (clip)

sure, it can (with an asterisk).


If you know where I am at a certain time and where I am at another time, you can calculate the AVERAGE speed between those physical points over the time period described. So, by way of a crude example, if I'm at "Point A" at 9AM and "Point B" at 10AM and they're 5 miles away from each other, I moved 5 miles in that hour for an average speed of 5mph. I could have been going 25mph for a couple minutes and stopped for 45 minutes of that hour, but the idea is, the AVERAGE speed over that hour was 5mph.

HOWEVER, in the article Bob points to:

(clip) examiners can draw a Google map of the route you took and the exact time you were there, down to the second." (clip)

they talk about "to the second" which, if the location is sufficiently specific, can potentially give you a much better estimate of vehicle speed over smaller periods than my previous rough example.