Yes, the iCloud online backup service is convenient for you, but also means that inquiring minds can effectively gain access to a near real-time copy of all that data. This includes your email messages, call logs, website visit history, text messages, and more. Your data is automatically backed up by iCloud each time it comes in contact with a Wi-Fi access point.

Under normal circumstances, the police would need physical access to your phone in order to tap into all those records. Assuming that they have the proper warrant and everything, law enforcement can presumably get access to the associated Apple ID and password, using the ElcomSoft solution to snoop through those backups in real time. This is even better than tapping into phone calls.

[Source]

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As if being able to track your every move wasn’t scary enough, it looks like there is yet another way to learn just about everything about you. Thankfully, the Universal Forensic Extraction Device (UFED) is being provided only to law enforcement. Then again, bad guys could probably swipe one of these too.

Basically, a range of different cell phones can be plugged into the UFED and the device will be able to quickly grab your contact information, messages, stored photos, calling history, and all sorts of other data that could be used against you in a court of law. The kicker is that it’ll scan for deleted and hidden files too, just in case you thought removing those incriminating photos and texts could save you.

“But I have a password.” Tough luck. The next model of the UFED will be able to stomp right on by the password lock on Android and iOS devices. Maybe it really is in your best interest to get a phone off the beaten path with an obscure proprietary data connection. Then the coppers will have a much more difficult time accessing your data.

Will this become standard equipment next to the radar gun and breathalyzer? I somehow doubt it, but it could be added to the arsenal of tools that CSIs bring the scene. It’s not quite as impressive though as the quick chip clone Jason Bourne did on the CIA lady’s phone in Bourne Identity.

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After refining the method used to lift fingerprints from plastic and glass, they’ve been able to lift photo-negative-style prints from several fabrics, with enough detail to identify the print donor on silk, nylon and polyester.

The method is called vacuum metal deposition, and works by placing the fabric in a vacuum chamber where gold and zinc are evaporated over the fabric in a two-phase process. The zinc collects over the gold film on the fabric, attaching to the gold where no fingerprints are present. The result is a clear palm print of unobscured fabric that shows through the grey metal coating the rest of the fabric.

Though only about 20 percent of the population consistently leave detailed prints due to different skin types, the method could still be used to identify whether a victim was pushed or pulled, similar to using tracks in the snow or mud to deduce what happened during a crime.

“An impression of a palm print on the back of someone’s shirt might indicate they were pushed off a balcony, rather than jumping,” said Paul Deacon, fingerprint unit manager at the Scottish Police Services Authority. Looks like Langston and crew will soon have a new weapon in their CSI arsenal!

[Gizmag]

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This comes out of a University of Pennsylvania report (PDF link), saying that smartphone touchscreens have a problem that non-touchscreens don’t. You see, you leave behind just enough residue from your fingerprints on the screen that could then be “easily lifted and analyzed by would-be attackers.”

Lifting fingerprints is just the beginning. You’d think that would only come up under a cSI-like situation, but run of the mill scanners and digital cameras can capture enough evidence for a would-be hacker to reconstruct. The smudges you leave behind are “surprisingly persistent in time” and that even wiping or pocketing the device would not remove all traces.

The net result? The study found that they could find the fingerprints left behind on Android devices and identify the password pattern left on the phone. That “security code” of yours? Not so secure anymore.

Our solution? Change your password frequently to create a wider range of smudges on your touchscreen.

Touchscreens on phones a security risk, researchers say [MobileBurn]

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