MSAB XAMN Pro – Discover evidence: Conversations and Images
Uncover evidence in pictures and messages easily
Any investigator trying to locate and identify evidence of a crime by searching through data knows it is increasingly complicated. There is an unbelievable amount of digital evidence on the mobile devices we carry with us everywhere. Our phone can reveal our movements and contain a myriad of other kinds of information such as pictures, location data and messages. In the hunt for digital criminals, technology such as artificial intelligence (AI) and picture analysis are important tools.
Today we communicate digitally almost exclusively through videos, images and chat applications. Evidence of this type is becoming increasingly important to connect a suspect to a crime. Seized devices often contain hundreds of thousands of images and messages. With the time pressure to investigate a crime quickly, it has become essential to use digital tools that allow you to speedily, securely and efficiently analyze and sort images and messages.
In this blog post, we will dig deep into XAMN Pro, the best digital forensic analysis solution, and show how it can help you quickly analyze pictures and conversations.
Hide duplicates and highlight digital evidence in pictures
When a crime is committed, many mobile devices are seized and their data extracted. Thousands of images and conversations are scattered over several devices. Only when they are paired can you understand the meaning of the images and the content of the conversations.
5 ways to effectively find evidence from pictures in XAMN Pro
- XAMN provides invaluable assistance by intelligently hiding duplicates across multiple data sources and devices when the amount of data can feel impossible to handle.
- When viewing images and videos use the Gallery view to get a quick overview of the pictures on a device.
- Enable image content recognition in XRY when performing extraction – this speeds up your review in XAMN as images containing items like weapons, drugs, and vehicles are classified automatically and will be quickly found in XAMN.
- If you have found a picture of interest, you can quickly find similar pictures by using the “Show similar pictures” option, available in the details panel.
- XAMN Pro is integrated with Project VIC and CAID. This is useful if you’re working on a CSAM (Child Sex Abuse Material) investigation as you can compare images in an extraction against known hashes from an official dataset.
Bonus Tip:
XAMN Pro takes advantage of Apple facial recognition to identify faces in iOS pictures, providing categorization and matching within extracted data, enabling you to search for a specific face in a cluster of pictures when analyzing the data in XAMN. Faces identified in iOS can also be linked to persons in XAMN. This feature has proven to be an invaluable tool by being able to link suspects to other ongoing criminal investigations, organized crime or cold cases.
All data presented as conversations
As we have mentioned in a previous blog post, given the vast amount of information to process and the added complexity when individuals communicate by using more than one device or by using multiple apps, this can be both challenging and time consuming.
XAMN Pro can create an ID with the help of images and conversations that are specific to one person. All communications tracked – calls and messages independent of operator, technology or messaging app – are aggregated in XAMN Pro as complete conversations.
Here is an example of how you can effectively follow an entire conversation in XAMN Pro, regardless of the digital environment in which it took place:
Case: You are investigating two individuals who are suspected of being involved in a network that deals in the theft of luxury cars. At the time of arrest, the persons had multiple devices in their possession. Also, additional devices were found in the residence of one of the suspects.
Solution: XAMN Pro not only enables you to immediately filter the relevant persons in your case and view the relationships between them, but you can also select specific identities and view their communication.
Prepare your review of conversations by expanding your “Persons” directory. The more identities you can link to a particular person, the easier it will be to review conversations involving the individual.
By reviewing data from all devices simultaneously in the context of a single case in XAMN Pro, you can determine that the two individuals communicate with each other through using burner phone SMS messages, WhatsApp messages and occasional phone calls. By linking the phone numbers used for SMS messages, WhatsApp aliases used for chat, and phone numbers used for voice calls to Person (A) and Person (B) respectively, XAMN allows you to read through all messages between the individuals chronology, even though the messages have been exchanged using multiple devices and identities.
Get a quick run-through of the “Persons” feature with the tutorial below:
Bonus Tip:
Designed to align seamlessly with your device settings, Dark Mode in XAMN Pro is perfect for reducing eye strain in low-light conditions. Whether you’re burning the midnight oil, working during late-night hours, or simply prefer it this way, this feature is tailor-made for you, enhancing focus and productivity.
Discover more about how to use the Dark Mode feature in XAMN Pro.
Final Thoughts
XAMN Pro unlocks a whole new level of analytics in mobile forensics. It combines efficiency with ease of use and powerful search capabilities making it an excellent choice for digital investigators who need to discover, analyze, package, and share digital evidence and artifacts from a crime scene quickly and securely.
To get the most out of the tool, sign up for our comprehensive training courses. With the expansive list of analytical capabilities included with XAMN Pro, getting certified ensures you are aware of all the time-saving capabilities within the platform and can make the best use of your valuable time. Our courses will empower you to work with speed and precision in the most powerful digital forensic analytical tool. It will ensure you’re well-prepared to solve cases in a smarter way, organize results and complete powerful reports and visuals to convey the information.
Learn more about available training opportunities.
If you’re not already using XAMN Pro, now is the time to start. If you want to learn more or have any questions, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.
