Latest news with #forensicexperts
Forbes
22-07-2025
- Forbes
What Every Trucking Attorney Must Know About Cell Phone Forensic Data Extractions
Truck driver using mobile phone. When a multi-million dollar trucking case hinges on what happened in the thirty seconds before impact, the difference between winning and losing often comes down to the quality of your cell phone forensic extraction. Yet many attorneys assume all forensic extractions are the same, unknowingly undermining their cases from the start. This confusion stems partly from the digital forensics community itself, which sends mixed messages about what's acceptable in trucking accident cases. Many experts who handle other types of cases assume a basic extraction will suffice, but they don't understand the unique demands of trucking cases, and they mislead attorneys as a result. The harsh reality is this: not all cell phone forensic extractions are created equal, and the most important evidence for trucking cases on the smartphone will be gone in days or weeks. The extraction method your expert chooses determines whether you uncover the evidence that wins your case or whether that same evidence vanishes forever. Cell Phone Forensics: Extractions Explained A cell phone data extraction is the digital forensic process of retrieving and preserving data from mobile devices to create legally admissible evidence. But many attorneys don't realize that when you request a "cell phone extraction" from a digital forensics expert, you're not ordering a standardized service with predictable results. Think of it this way: asking for a "forensic extraction" is like ordering "food" at a restaurant. You might get a snack, a full meal or a feast depending on what the kitchen can deliver. The same uncertainty exists when you request a cell phone forensic extraction from a digital forensics expert. You might receive a surface-level scan or a comprehensive deep-dive. Modern smartphones don't just make calls and send texts. They create a detailed digital diary of user interactions. This evidence can prove or disprove liability in those crucial seconds before impact with unprecedented precision. For example, phone records from the cellular provider might tell you if a message was received or if a phone call ended at a certain time, but only a cell phone extraction performed on the physical smartphone itself can reveal whether the driver was actively typing a message, scrolling through social media or responding to a notification during the same critical time period. Modern smartphones contain layers upon layers of data, much like an archaeological dig where the most valuable artifacts are often buried deepest. The surface layer contains obvious evidence: text messages, call logs, photos and other data that any user can see by browsing their phone normally. But the deeper layers contain the digital artifacts that reveal the truth about driver device interaction in those critical moments before impact. The extraction method your expert chooses determines how many of these layers they can access. Choose wrong, and you'll get a comprehensive report of surface-level data while the evidence that could win your case remains buried and eventually gets permanently deleted by the phone's normal operation. Cell Phone Logical Extraction: Why It Fails Trucking Cases A logical extraction represents the most basic approach to cell phone forensics, equivalent to examining a building only from street level. This method primarily accesses the active file system and user data that the phone's operating system makes readily available, much like browsing files when you connect your phone to a computer. This extraction method recovers information that sits on the surface: active files currently stored on the device, user-accessible data and settings, and basic app information. However, what it cannot capture often proves far more significant than what it can. The critical limitations of logical extraction create dangerous blind spots in your case preparation. This method recovers minimal amounts of deleted data, system files and application-related data. Most importantly, it mostly accesses information the operating system allows standard access to, meaning it will miss the most valuable evidence for proving or disproving distracted driving. For trucking cases where liability can hinge on a phone interaction seconds before impact, logical extraction provides an incomplete and potentially misleading picture. Relying on this level of extraction in a serious trucking case when higher-level extraction is possible is like conducting a murder investigation by only examining what's visible in the living room while ignoring the rest of the house. Cell Phone File System Extraction: Still Inadequate for Transportation Litigation File system extraction represents a significant improvement over logical extraction by accessing the device's file system directly. This approach bypasses certain operating system restrictions and can recover substantially more data, including deleted files and application databases that logical extraction would miss entirely. This enhanced method captures more comprehensive file access, retrieving deleted files and app databases that contain valuable user activity information. It provides deeper system information and better app usage data, offering a more complete picture of how someone used the device during critical timeframes. However, file system extraction still faces important limitations that can leave significant gaps in your evidence. While it recovers some deleted items, it still misses many others, particularly those stored in protected areas of the device's memory. Think of it as being able to search the main floors of a building but still being locked out of the basement and attic where crucial evidence might be stored. Cell Phone Physical Extraction: The Digital Forensics Gold Standard Blocked by Modern Security In an ideal world without modern security constraints, physical extraction would represent the ultimate forensic method. This technique creates a complete bit-by-bit copy of the device's entire memory, including all system files, deleted data and unallocated space. It creates an exact duplicate of every piece of data stored on the device. However, modern smartphone security has made physical extraction nearly impossible on current generation devices. Apple's iOS devices and newer Android phones employ sophisticated encryption and security measures that block this level of access. While these security features protect user privacy, they also prevent forensic experts from accessing the complete data picture that physical extraction would traditionally provide. The practical result: while physical extraction remains the theoretical gold standard, it's largely unavailable for modern smartphones involved in trucking cases. Cell Phone Full File System Extraction: The Only Acceptable Standard for Trucking Accident Cases Given the limitations imposed by modern smartphone security, full file system extraction has emerged as the most advanced and comprehensive method currently available for encrypted devices. This sophisticated technique represents the highest standard of data recovery possible on today's smartphones, working within security constraints to provide the most complete evidence picture available. Full file system extraction recovers significantly more data than other methods by accessing protected areas of the file system that basic methods cannot reach. It retrieves deleted data to the maximum extent possible given current hardware limitations and provides the most complete timeline available of user activity on the device. Most importantly for trucking cases, this method captures digital artifacts that reveal precise device usage patterns during critical timeframes and evidence of incomplete actions and interrupted activities that other methods would never detect. This includes data from protected file system areas, recovered deleted information and user interaction data that can definitively establish or refute distracted driving claims. In trucking litigation, this isn't just the best option. If this level of extraction is supported for a smartphone, then it's the only option that provides adequate evidence preservation and spoliation protection. Trucking Accidents: Cell Phone Forensics Is Risk Management Your choice of extraction method isn't just a technical decision. It's a strategic litigation choice that can determine your entire case's trajectory. In an era where trucking cases routinely involve millions of dollars in potential liability, the difference between adequate and inadequate digital forensics can mean the difference between protecting your client and exposing them to catastrophic financial consequences. You rarely get second chances when it comes to digital evidence preservation. When thirty seconds can determine liability in a multi-million dollar case, and when the evidence of what happened in those thirty seconds exists for only days or weeks before automatic deletion, there's simply no room for compromise on forensic extraction quality.
CBC
08-07-2025
- CBC
Police investigating after skeletal remains found in river near Dauphin
Police are investigating after partial skeletal remains were found in a river in western Manitoba on Monday night. Just before 8 p.m. Monday, officers were called to the Valley River near Dauphin — about 250 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg — where a swimmer had found what they believed to be skeletal remains in the shallow water, Manitoba RCMP said in a Tuesday news release. Police said investigators are working with an anthropologist, forensic experts, and search and rescue officials to find out how old the remains are and what led to them ending up in the river.
CNN
29-05-2025
- General
- CNN
Prehistoric fingerprint found in Spain offers clue to Neanderthal capacity for making art, study finds
Researchers in central Spain say they may have uncovered one of the most ancient symbolic objects bearing a human fingerprint on record in Europe, dating back tens of thousands of years. Unlocking the secret identity of exactly who made the mark involved enlisting the help of forensic experts working in crime scene investigations. The pebble marked with the print, found in the San Lázaro rock shelter in Segovia, hints at the possible capacity of Neanderthals to create symbolic art, according to a new study. The discovery adds to a growing body of evidence, including cave markings and paintings unearthed in recent years, building the case that our prehistoric relatives who went extinct about 40,000 years ago were more like modern humans than some might think. The team of Spanish researchers spotted the oblong rock below 5 feet (1.5 meters) of sediment during an excavation in July 2022 and reported their findings in a paper published May 24 in the journal Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences. San Lázaro is a site believed to have been occupied by Neanderthals, according to the study. 'When we saw (the pebble) the first time … we were looking at the stone, all the team and students, and we were like 'Uh, it looks like a face,'' said study coauthor María de Andrés Herrero, a professor of prehistory at the Compultense University of Madrid. This kind of finding in a Neanderthal context was unexpected, she added. Herrero said she and her team carbon-dated the fingerprint, and they are certain it dates back about 43,000 years. The rock had been found near a riverbed and deliberately brought to the rock shelter, the researchers believe. Unlike other artifacts found in the shelter, this pebble was unique: It appeared to have no functional use and had a peculiar red dot that intrigued the researchers. 'We felt that the red dot had something, I don't know what … and the only way we could know there was a fingerprint was to contact the main specialist in Spain (for) finding fingerprints,' Herrero said. 'That's why we contacted the police.' With the help of experts working in crime scene investigations with Madrid's forensic police corps Madrid, the researchers were able to confirm that a fingerprint existed within the dot. But the police were initially skeptical about the find. 'They are used to identifying fingerprints that are very recent, from 2 days, 1 week, 1 month. But 43,000 years ago — it was very weird and very difficult for them,' Herrero said. Using forensic techniques and multispectral analysis (an advanced method of capturing images), the investigative experts and the study team were able to discern a fingerprint within the red dot. 'We couldn't believe it really,' Herrero said. The forensic investigator created a special camera to capture the evidence, and it was the first time such techniques were used to identify a Neanderthal fingerprint, according to Herrero. The imaging technology section of the forensic team then analyzed the marking to confirm it was compatible with a human fingerprint — and to make sure it didn't belong to any of the researchers. The police unit was able to verify that it likely belonged to an adult male Neanderthal. 'The verification of the fingerprint by forensic experts shows beyond doubt that this derived from direct contact with a human fingerprint,' said Paul Pettitt, a professor of paleolithic archaeology at Durham University in the United Kingdom. The artifact could be the oldest complete hominin fingerprint ever found, according to Herrero. Another, possibly older print was found in Königsaue, Germany, back in 1963 — but that one is a partial fingerprint. The San Lázaro fingerprint could also be the oldest associated with a pigment, according to the study. The researchers were able to confirm that ocher, a clay pigment, was applied to the tip of the finger that made its mark on the quartz-rich granite pebble. Statistical modeling used by the researchers showed that the mark on the pebble was 'not random' and rather, intentionally placed, Herrero said. Pettitt said he was unsurprised by the findings. 'It represents yet another example of the emerging data that are revealing Neanderthal visual culture,' he explained. 'This is an admirably clear and unequivocal example of the Neanderthal use of red pigment, one of a growing database that reveals that Neanderthals were routinely using pigments to leave marks of their bodies (hands, fingertips) on cave walls and portable objects.' One theory is that the hollows on the rock resemble parts of a face: eyes, mouth and chin. The placement of the red dot, the researchers hypothesized, could be the place of a nose. If that is the case, the pebble marking would constitute a visual sign with a symbolic purpose. 'A meaning or message exists, however simple the object and action may appear, 'the study authors wrote. They added there is reason to suspect that the pebble was intended to be a representation of a face. The study, which called the characteristics of the pebble 'exceptional,' suggests it might be a visual symbol that could be considered a piece of 'portable art in some contexts.' If that's the case, scientists' understanding of what Neanderthals were capable of could continue to shift. 'The fact that the pebble was selected because of its appearance and then marked with ocher shows that there was a human mind capable of symbolizing, imagining, idealizing and projecting his or her thoughts on an object,' the study authors wrote. Though there is no way of knowing for certain, Herrero thinks it's a demonstration of how our understanding of the 'thin line' separating Neanderthals from modern humans is getting thinner. 'They were able to recognize faces in objects, as you and me are able to recognize a lion in the clouds,' she said. Pettitt offered a similar outlook, saying the findings fit with 'emerging evidence that the Neanderthal imagination was experimenting with the human form and with recognition and extension of that form within and onto objects in their natural world.' Herrero said the research team is now planning to search for more 'invisible artifacts' to help interpret the past. The forensic police will play a role in finding information not visible to the naked eye. 'We have to collaborate and integrate forensic technologies in archaeology, and maybe archaeology in forensic technologies,' she explained, saying the collaboration is 'opening a new window to check our past.'
CNN
29-05-2025
- General
- CNN
Prehistoric fingerprint found in Spain offers clue to Neanderthal capacity for making art, study finds
Researchers in central Spain say they may have uncovered one of the most ancient symbolic objects bearing a human fingerprint on record in Europe, dating back tens of thousands of years. Unlocking the secret identity of exactly who made the mark involved enlisting the help of forensic experts working in crime scene investigations. The pebble marked with the print, found in the San Lázaro rock shelter in Segovia, hints at the possible capacity of Neanderthals to create symbolic art, according to a new study. The discovery adds to a growing body of evidence, including cave markings and paintings unearthed in recent years, building the case that our prehistoric relatives who went extinct about 40,000 years ago were more like modern humans than some might think. The team of Spanish researchers spotted the oblong rock below 5 feet (1.5 meters) of sediment during an excavation in July 2022 and reported their findings in a paper published May 24 in the journal Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences. San Lázaro is a site believed to have been occupied by Neanderthals, according to the study. 'When we saw (the pebble) the first time … we were looking at the stone, all the team and students, and we were like 'Uh, it looks like a face,'' said study coauthor María de Andrés Herrero, a professor of prehistory at the Compultense University of Madrid. This kind of finding in a Neanderthal context was unexpected, she added. Herrero said she and her team carbon-dated the fingerprint, and they are certain it dates back about 43,000 years. The rock had been found near a riverbed and deliberately brought to the rock shelter, the researchers believe. Unlike other artifacts found in the shelter, this pebble was unique: It appeared to have no functional use and had a peculiar red dot that intrigued the researchers. 'We felt that the red dot had something, I don't know what … and the only way we could know there was a fingerprint was to contact the main specialist in Spain (for) finding fingerprints,' Herrero said. 'That's why we contacted the police.' With the help of experts working in crime scene investigations with Madrid's forensic police corps Madrid, the researchers were able to confirm that a fingerprint existed within the dot. But the police were initially skeptical about the find. 'They are used to identifying fingerprints that are very recent, from 2 days, 1 week, 1 month. But 43,000 years ago — it was very weird and very difficult for them,' Herrero said. Using forensic techniques and multispectral analysis (an advanced method of capturing images), the investigative experts and the study team were able to discern a fingerprint within the red dot. 'We couldn't believe it really,' Herrero said. The forensic investigator created a special camera to capture the evidence, and it was the first time such techniques were used to identify a Neanderthal fingerprint, according to Herrero. The imaging technology section of the forensic team then analyzed the marking to confirm it was compatible with a human fingerprint — and to make sure it didn't belong to any of the researchers. The police unit was able to verify that it likely belonged to an adult male Neanderthal. 'The verification of the fingerprint by forensic experts shows beyond doubt that this derived from direct contact with a human fingerprint,' said Paul Pettitt, a professor of paleolithic archaeology at Durham University in the United Kingdom. The artifact could be the oldest complete hominin fingerprint ever found, according to Herrero. Another, possibly older print was found in Königsaue, Germany, back in 1963 — but that one is a partial fingerprint. The San Lázaro fingerprint could also be the oldest associated with a pigment, according to the study. The researchers were able to confirm that ocher, a clay pigment, was applied to the tip of the finger that made its mark on the quartz-rich granite pebble. Statistical modeling used by the researchers showed that the mark on the pebble was 'not random' and rather, intentionally placed, Herrero said. Pettitt said he was unsurprised by the findings. 'It represents yet another example of the emerging data that are revealing Neanderthal visual culture,' he explained. 'This is an admirably clear and unequivocal example of the Neanderthal use of red pigment, one of a growing database that reveals that Neanderthals were routinely using pigments to leave marks of their bodies (hands, fingertips) on cave walls and portable objects.' One theory is that the hollows on the rock resemble parts of a face: eyes, mouth and chin. The placement of the red dot, the researchers hypothesized, could be the place of a nose. If that is the case, the pebble marking would constitute a visual sign with a symbolic purpose. 'A meaning or message exists, however simple the object and action may appear, 'the study authors wrote. They added there is reason to suspect that the pebble was intended to be a representation of a face. The study, which called the characteristics of the pebble 'exceptional,' suggests it might be a visual symbol that could be considered a piece of 'portable art in some contexts.' If that's the case, scientists' understanding of what Neanderthals were capable of could continue to shift. 'The fact that the pebble was selected because of its appearance and then marked with ocher shows that there was a human mind capable of symbolizing, imagining, idealizing and projecting his or her thoughts on an object,' the study authors wrote. Though there is no way of knowing for certain, Herrero thinks it's a demonstration of how our understanding of the 'thin line' separating Neanderthals from modern humans is getting thinner. 'They were able to recognize faces in objects, as you and me are able to recognize a lion in the clouds,' she said. Pettitt offered a similar outlook, saying the findings fit with 'emerging evidence that the Neanderthal imagination was experimenting with the human form and with recognition and extension of that form within and onto objects in their natural world.' Herrero said the research team is now planning to search for more 'invisible artifacts' to help interpret the past. The forensic police will play a role in finding information not visible to the naked eye. 'We have to collaborate and integrate forensic technologies in archaeology, and maybe archaeology in forensic technologies,' she explained, saying the collaboration is 'opening a new window to check our past.'
CNN
29-05-2025
- General
- CNN
Prehistoric fingerprint found in Spain offers clue to Neanderthal capacity for making art, study finds
Researchers in central Spain say they may have uncovered one of the most ancient symbolic objects bearing a human fingerprint on record in Europe, dating back tens of thousands of years. Unlocking the secret identity of exactly who made the mark involved enlisting the help of forensic experts working in crime scene investigations. The pebble marked with the print, found in the San Lázaro rock shelter in Segovia, hints at the possible capacity of Neanderthals to create symbolic art, according to a new study. The discovery adds to a growing body of evidence, including cave markings and paintings unearthed in recent years, building the case that our prehistoric relatives who went extinct about 40,000 years ago were more like modern humans than some might think. The team of Spanish researchers spotted the oblong rock below 5 feet (1.5 meters) of sediment during an excavation in July 2022 and reported their findings in a paper published May 24 in the journal Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences. San Lázaro is a site believed to have been occupied by Neanderthals, according to the study. 'When we saw (the pebble) the first time … we were looking at the stone, all the team and students, and we were like 'Uh, it looks like a face,'' said study coauthor María de Andrés Herrero, a professor of prehistory at the Compultense University of Madrid. This kind of finding in a Neanderthal context was unexpected, she added. Herrero said she and her team carbon-dated the fingerprint, and they are certain it dates back about 43,000 years. The rock had been found near a riverbed and deliberately brought to the rock shelter, the researchers believe. Unlike other artifacts found in the shelter, this pebble was unique: It appeared to have no functional use and had a peculiar red dot that intrigued the researchers. 'We felt that the red dot had something, I don't know what … and the only way we could know there was a fingerprint was to contact the main specialist in Spain (for) finding fingerprints,' Herrero said. 'That's why we contacted the police.' With the help of experts working in crime scene investigations with Madrid's forensic police corps Madrid, the researchers were able to confirm that a fingerprint existed within the dot. But the police were initially skeptical about the find. 'They are used to identifying fingerprints that are very recent, from 2 days, 1 week, 1 month. But 43,000 years ago — it was very weird and very difficult for them,' Herrero said. Using forensic techniques and multispectral analysis (an advanced method of capturing images), the investigative experts and the study team were able to discern a fingerprint within the red dot. 'We couldn't believe it really,' Herrero said. The forensic investigator created a special camera to capture the evidence, and it was the first time such techniques were used to identify a Neanderthal fingerprint, according to Herrero. The imaging technology section of the forensic team then analyzed the marking to confirm it was compatible with a human fingerprint — and to make sure it didn't belong to any of the researchers. The police unit was able to verify that it likely belonged to an adult male Neanderthal. 'The verification of the fingerprint by forensic experts shows beyond doubt that this derived from direct contact with a human fingerprint,' said Paul Pettitt, a professor of paleolithic archaeology at Durham University in the United Kingdom. The artifact could be the oldest complete hominin fingerprint ever found, according to Herrero. Another, possibly older print was found in Königsaue, Germany, back in 1963 — but that one is a partial fingerprint. The San Lázaro fingerprint could also be the oldest associated with a pigment, according to the study. The researchers were able to confirm that ocher, a clay pigment, was applied to the tip of the finger that made its mark on the quartz-rich granite pebble. Statistical modeling used by the researchers showed that the mark on the pebble was 'not random' and rather, intentionally placed, Herrero said. Pettitt said he was unsurprised by the findings. 'It represents yet another example of the emerging data that are revealing Neanderthal visual culture,' he explained. 'This is an admirably clear and unequivocal example of the Neanderthal use of red pigment, one of a growing database that reveals that Neanderthals were routinely using pigments to leave marks of their bodies (hands, fingertips) on cave walls and portable objects.' One theory is that the hollows on the rock resemble parts of a face: eyes, mouth and chin. The placement of the red dot, the researchers hypothesized, could be the place of a nose. If that is the case, the pebble marking would constitute a visual sign with a symbolic purpose. 'A meaning or message exists, however simple the object and action may appear, 'the study authors wrote. They added there is reason to suspect that the pebble was intended to be a representation of a face. The study, which called the characteristics of the pebble 'exceptional,' suggests it might be a visual symbol that could be considered a piece of 'portable art in some contexts.' If that's the case, scientists' understanding of what Neanderthals were capable of could continue to shift. 'The fact that the pebble was selected because of its appearance and then marked with ocher shows that there was a human mind capable of symbolizing, imagining, idealizing and projecting his or her thoughts on an object,' the study authors wrote. Though there is no way of knowing for certain, Herrero thinks it's a demonstration of how our understanding of the 'thin line' separating Neanderthals from modern humans is getting thinner. 'They were able to recognize faces in objects, as you and me are able to recognize a lion in the clouds,' she said. Pettitt offered a similar outlook, saying the findings fit with 'emerging evidence that the Neanderthal imagination was experimenting with the human form and with recognition and extension of that form within and onto objects in their natural world.' Herrero said the research team is now planning to search for more 'invisible artifacts' to help interpret the past. The forensic police will play a role in finding information not visible to the naked eye. 'We have to collaborate and integrate forensic technologies in archaeology, and maybe archaeology in forensic technologies,' she explained, saying the collaboration is 'opening a new window to check our past.'
