Cellphone location records and surveillance video are commonly used in criminal investigations to place individuals at specific locations.
October 20, 2025
high
procedural
Investigators frequently analyze mobile device location data and video evidence to link persons to places and times in an inquiry.
Cellular toll analysis can identify phone numbers called and provide the approximate locations where a phone call originated and where it was received.
high
technical capability
Toll analysis of call detail records is a common digital-forensic technique used in investigations to trace calling patterns and locations.
OpenAI's ChatGPT includes image-generation capabilities and can be used to produce user-requested images.
high
descriptive
Describes a capability of the ChatGPT platform relevant to digital evidence and content generation.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) can provide chat transcripts from online platforms, including Discord, to law enforcement or foreign authorities to assist investigations of suspected child exploitation.
high
procedural
Illustrates a mechanism by which a child-protection nonprofit supports investigations into online exploitation.
Sophisticated cyberattacks often use techniques such as forging digital certificates, bypassing antivirus software, and employing strong encryption to erase forensic traces.
high
technical
These techniques are commonly observed in advanced persistent threat operations to maintain access and evade detection.
Law enforcement agencies can use digital records from social media platforms, internet service providers, IP logs, device identifiers, and subscriber information to link online aliases to real-world individuals and locate residences.
high
process
Investigative techniques commonly involve correlating platform account data, network logs, and device/subscriber records to identify persons behind online activity.
Private digital forensics firms such as Cellebrite and Othram can assist law enforcement agencies by recovering data from partially wiped devices and helping reconstruct digital timelines during investigations.
high
procedural
Role of third‑party forensic labs in criminal investigations
Forensic analysts can treat a device being powered off while at full battery as an indicator that the shutdown was deliberate rather than caused by battery failure, which can remove a routine explanation for an absence of device data.
high
procedural
Interpretation of device power state in digital investigations
A temporal gap or 'void' in a device's recorded activity during a relevant time window can itself be treated as inculpatory evidence and prompt investigators to focus forensic analysis on that period.
high
procedural
Significance of missing data in digital forensic timelines