iPhone Backup Files

Devices such as the iPhone now have the capacity to store vast quantities of personal data and offer applications that support all aspects of a user’s everyday life. Apple constantly aims to facilitate convenience and simplicity by producing devices that accommodate all of their consumers’ desires at their fingertips. Mobile devices are no longer purely utilized for the purpose of communication, but for a means of socializing, purchasing goods, mobile banking and much more. The extensive and diverse use of iPhones makes them a rich source of evidence, as they have the potential to contain valuable data, such as information that could identify the whereabouts of a suspect at a specific point in time or correspondence between dubious groups, therefore having the potential to significantly contribute to the outcome of investigations.

An abundance of research and time is afforded to devices such as the iPhone, due to the vast quantity of data that they can now facilitate and their potential to be utilized as a viable source of evidence. However, the iPhone backup file, a partial replica of the physical device, has yet to receive the same level of consideration. The first of two articles by Kate Wright provides an insight into the iPhone Backup file based on research and theoretical evaluation. It highlights the importance of the backup file as an integral component of the forensic process, whilst laying the foundations for the second technical-based article.