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WebMap lets you import text messages from the UFDR Cellebrite Reader file and map the tower handling the message in Google Earth. This is extremely powerful if you have a case where determing the location of the phone when particular text messages were sent or received. Webmap matched the Cellebrite stored text message with the SMS records in the Carrier's CDR file. If they are close in time then it tags it as a match and plots the tower location as shown in the map above. Th

WebMap now supports importing Cellebrite location points and mapping them onto Google Earth. Watch the video on Youtube here https://youtu.be/oCY2iRCLx9M Point WebMap at a Cellebrite Reader UFDR file and it will extract the location data locally on your computer then upload just the location file into WebMap where it will be converted into a Google Earth map. Color code the Type such as Visited, Searched, Derived, Harvested, Saved, etc. Toggle by data source such as Native, A

Here is another blog on Timing Advance and the use of it for cell phone forensic location analysis. Timing Advance maintains a great deal of interest in the mobile forensic world due to its efforts to estimate the location of a cell phone and its impact on legal cases. This blog looks at the timing advance data in two different ways. First we will look at the speed required to go from one point to the next point in the records and see if it makes logical sense. Next we will l

The Supreme Court of the US is taking a crack at the privacy of your cell phone's location data. They must decide whether geofence warrants are unconstitutional or not. A geofence warrant is issued by law enforcement and if signed by a judge forces a company such as Google to provide location data of all the cell phone users within a specified geographic area and a specified time window. This is typically within an hour or two of a crime and several hundred meters around the

Cell phone forensic analysis of GPS location in timing advance files T-Mobile’s timing advance file is used to estimate the location of the phone. It is used in legal cases and includes an estimated latitude/longitude location for the phone, date and time, phone information, tower information and the phone’s estimated distance to the cell. The position of the phone is typically an estimated one based on the time it takes for a signal to reach the phone. In its simplest form w

cell phone forensic depiction of cell tower coverage areas as pie shapes is completely misleading

FBI CAST The FBI Cellular Analysis Survey Team (CAST) assists on cases involving cell phone evidence. They have a standard report template they use that changes from time to time, but they continue to get it wrong. I'm a technology expert in cell phone networks, phones and coverage analysis. My background is in cellular technology not law enforcement. The reason I got into assisting attorneys in legal cases is because I saw how prosecutors and law enforcement mislead judges a

Cell phone forensics landmark cases In this blog I will address landmark cases I have identified that are having a considerable effect on the area of cell phone forensics. Riley vs. California, Fourth Appellate District, Division One, No. 13-132 (2014) Police arrested David Riley and searched his smartphone without a warrant. They accessed photos, messages, and other digital content stored on the device. Ruling: The Supreme Court held that warrantless searches of cell phones

Life 360 app - cell phone forensics Life 360 is a location tracking application that runs on a cell phone. Family members can share their...

Timing Advance, Distance to Cell, Historical Phone Location estimates, Expert Analysis Introduction My blog on the SWGDE process for...

As a mobile device forensics expert, I was intrigued by the Trump administration snafu of inviting a reporter on a cell phone text group...

SWGDE just updated their document "Recommendations for Cell Site Analysis History" in March 2025. They continue to be wrong and biased...

iPhone Forensic Analysis of Database Files The iPhone has tens of thousands of files, thousands of folders, and hundreds of databases....

Heatmap overlay on AT&T call data Please watch this mobile forensics video. It takes you through mapping of CDR and Historical Precision...

Using cell phone forensics to analyze WhatsApp data on your cell phone

According to Merriam-Webster, an expert is defined as "one with the special skill or knowledge representing mastery of a particular...

I have been using the AI chat bots quite a bit lately as well as over the past year. I have increased my usage over this time as these...

Google Timeline Map If you read my last blog, you know that Google is no longer keeping your location history on their servers as of May...

If you have an Android phone you may or may not be aware that Google may be keeping years of your location history. There is a setting in...

In the last 7 years I gave been a cell phone/network export in over 65 cases. A majority of those cases I work with the criminal defense...