Peer to Peer Magazine

PEER TO PEER: THE QUARTERLY MAGA ZINE OF ILTA 52 The sophistication of mobile technology and the types of data stored on mobile devices continue to evolve, raising new issues in the e-discovery process. Mobile devices now store email and text messages and house social media, pictures and videos. Much of these data are new to the litigation field, and understanding how to manage and process them is of paramount importance for attorneys. GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION Mobile devices continuously collect personal information. We know our phones store things like images and messages, but what about less obvious information, like geographic information? Outside of typical GPS uses, cell towers record the location of every call, a phone's camera automatically geotags photos, Wi-Fi networks record when and where you log on, and more. Many downloaded applications — including chat apps, games and exercise monitoring apps — store geographic information automatically. Social media apps constantly record location data, too. One can even allow a mapping application to remember their home and work locations. There are also services, like Google Now for Android, that identify and track the physical location of a phone. All an investigator would have to do to retrieve the location information is access the user's Google account — and that can be done with or without the actual device. Geotagging for an application can generally be turned off in a phone's settings, but many people aren't even aware these data are being captured. For attorneys working on a case involving mobile phones, this wealth of geographic data can be an advantage. For example, if you need to prove someone was in a location at a specific time, digital forensics experts can examine the phone and plot its movements — possibly even linking photos to the locations and time taken — providing attorneys with detailed information and ammunition for their cases. ALTERED AND DELETED DATA Nearly everyone owns and carries a phone or tablet these days. When a crime is committed, it's likely that a mobile device can provide some form of evidence, such as a cellphone geotagging a location. At the same time, with mobile technology on the rise, the average person is becoming FEATURES

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