MSAB Digital Forensics Glossary
Key Terms and Definitions
Welcome to Our Digital Forensics Glossary — A 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.
Cache
A temporary storage area for frequently accessed data (e.g., a browser cache), which can contain forensic evid […]
Read full termCAID (Child Abuse Image Database)
CAID is a UK centralized database maintained by the UK Government and is used by UK Law Enforcement such as th […]
Read full termCall Detail Record (CDR)
Telecommunications log recording metadata about phone calls or messages (numbers, time, duration, cell tower). […]
Read full termCall Log Analysis
Call log analysis is a crucial aspect of mobile device forensics, involving the examination of call records an […]
Read full termCell Phone Data Recovery
Cell phone data recovery is a critical aspect of mobile device forensics, focusing on the retrieval of deleted […]
Read full termCellular Network Forensics
Cellular network forensics is a branch of digital forensics that focuses on investigating mobile communication […]
Read full termCellular Tower Dump Analysis
Cellular tower dump analysis is a forensic technique used to investigate mobile device activity within the ran […]
Read full termChain of custody
The chronological documentation of who handled a piece of evidence, when, and under what conditions. This is e […]
Read full termChip Off
An advanced forensic technique where the memory chip is physically removed from a device (usually a smartphone […]
Read full termCLI (Command Line Interface)
In digital forensics, the CLI (Command Line Interface) refers to the use of text-based commands to interact wi […]
Read full termCloud Forensics
The application of forensic techniques to data stored in cloud services. It often involves acquiring data via […]
Read full termCross-Device Analysis
Cross-device analysis is a technique in mobile forensics that involves examining and correlating data from mul […]
Read full termCross-platform Mobile Forensics
Cross-platform mobile forensics refers to the process of acquiring and analyzing data from mobile devices that […]
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