Cell Phone Forensics at Its Best

While everyone is aware of how far technology has come today, many forget really how much specific devices can tell about various events. Cell phone forensics has become a vital piece of information and evidence that is used in criminal trials. Between being highly sophisticated and rather simple at the same time, this device can be extremely beneficial in criminal investigations.

The main reason cell phone records are used in court is to determine where people were and who they were talking to. What you may not realize is just how easy it is to track where you are when you were talking on the phone.

Despite cell phones being fairly sophisticated devices, they really are nothing more than a two-way radio. They are constantly connecting and communicating with a network by sending pings to the nearest transmission tower. Because of this, it makes it fairly simple to route calls correctly.(Ed Opperman)

There are multiple antennas that track your phone's signal because of the fact that a single tower only covers a few square miles. However, cell phone forensics is made possible with the help of countless towers spread all over. As you move, your call travels and is handed over to the base station that receives the strongest signal from the phone. This means that wherever you go, your signal can and will be tracked.

The carrier keeps detailed records of which towers your phone has made contact with and what time it did so. What this means is that where you and your phone are located can be tracked within a few hundred yards. Urban areas allow you to be tracked even more precisely by the block.

To make cell phone forensics even easier, many phones have become equipped with GPS chips. As long as it is turned on, this allows the carrier and anyone looking to attain evidence and records your exact location in real time.

This information has different ramifications on different people. For some, it can be a great way to track down where your husband or wife really went during a "business vacation." For others, it can lead to your conviction in some kind of criminal trial. It all depends on how you look at the technology and what you are hoping to get out of it.

For now, there is no doubt that cell phones have played a major role in criminal cases and many other types of trials. With the ability to track where you are, where you have gone, and what time you were in the location, cell phones can either be your best or worst enemy in regards to cell phone forensics.