MSAB Digital Forensics Glossary

Key Terms and Definitions

 

Welcome to Our Digital Forensics GlossaryA resource for clear, concise definitions of key terms used in digital forensic investigations. This glossary includes terminology used in the field of smartphone investigations, mobile data extraction, and the analysis of digital evidence from mobile devices.

As mobile phones become central to cybercrime and digital investigations, it’s essential to understand critical concepts such as IMEI, mobile data acquisition, app artifacts, and SIM card analysis. You’ll also find definitions of broader digital forensics terms like hash values, metadata, and chain of custody — all explained in a straightforward, accessible format. Whether you’re a mobile forensics specialist, law enforcement officer, cybersecurity professional, or student, this glossary offers up-to-date explanations to help you navigate the rapidly evolving field of mobile forensics.

Backdoor

A hidden method of bypassing security or authentication in a system, often installed by malware to grant attac […]

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Backup

A copy of digital data stored separately from the original, used for recovery in case of data loss. In digital […]

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Base64 Encoding

A method for converting binary data into ASCII text. Often used in data obfuscation, email attachments, and fo […]

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BFU (Before First Unlock)

Refers to a device state, the device has been turned off and no passcode/password has been entered by the user […]

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Biome

A biome is a collection of variables and settings that have common characteristics due to similar environments […]

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Biometric Unlock Forensics

Biometric unlock forensics is a subdiscipline of mobile forensics that focuses on investigating and analyzing […]

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BIOS (Basic Input/Output System)

Firmware stored on a motherboard chip that initializes hardware during boot and provides runtime services for […]

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Bit

The smallest unit of digital information (a binary digit, 0 or 1).

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Bit-by-Bit Copy

An exact duplicate of a storage medium (all bytes copied exactly), also known as a forensic clone or image.

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BitLocker

A full-disk encryption feature built into Microsoft Windows. Forensic investigators may need to bypass or decr […]

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Blockchain Forensics

The application of digital forensics to blockchain and cryptocurrency transactions, including tracing illicit […]

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Bluetooth forensics

Bluetooth forensics is a branch of digital forensics that focuses on investigating wireless data transfer and […]

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Boot Loader

A program that loads an operating system when a device is turned on; unlocking a mobile device’s bootloader al […]

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Boot Sector

The section of a storage drive containing code to start the boot process for computers (e.g., Master Boot Reco […]

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Botnet

A network of compromised computers (bots) controlled by an attacker, used together to perform large-scale task […]

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Brick/ed

Term used to indicate a process that has caused a device to malfunction and become nonresponsive. Processes th […]

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Brute Force Attack

A trial-and-error method used to crack passwords or encryption by systematically trying many possible combinat […]

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BSSID (Basic Service Set Identifiers)

The BSSID is the MAC address (Media Access Control address) of a wireless access point (AP) in a Wi-Fi network […]

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BYOD (Bring Your Own Device)

An organizational practice allowing employees to use personal devices (computers, smartphones, etc.) for work […]

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Bypass Lock Screen

A method used by Forensic tools such as XRY and XRY Pro allows a user to gain access to a mobile device by byp […]

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Byte

A group of 8 bits; a basic unit of data representing a single character in text (e.g., one letter is typically […]

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