EU common charger for all mobiles/tablets

Members of the European Parliament have presented a persuasive first stage plan, based upon reduction of waste and consumer easy for charger migration when changing to a new handset, to the Council of Members for the need for a universal charger for all new mobiles sold into the EU.

2012/0283(COD)
26.4.2013
***I
DRAFT REPORT
on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to the making available on the market of radio equipment (COM(2012)0584 – C7-0333/2012 – 2012/0283(COD))
Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection

In accordance with the amendment to Article 2(3) of the proposed Directive.
Amendment 3

"appropriate type throughout the Union may be necessary. Interoperability between radio equipment and accessories such as chargers simplify use of radio equipment and reduce unnecessary waste."

"throughout the Union is necessary in some cases. Interoperability between radio equipment and accessories such as chargers simplifies use of radio equipment, reduces unnecessary waste and costs. A renewed effort to develop a common charger would therefore be highly desirable and consequently be beneficial in particular for consumers and other end-users."

If the further proposed stages receive approval the timescale envisaged to introduce a universal charger common to all new mobile phones could be available on the market by 2017 at the earliest. That is because members states will be given two years to transpose the new directive into local legislation.

Of course, the technical realisation needs to be transformed into an approved technical standard. Some years ago the EU approved micro-USB for use with smart phones. However, as the EU has yet to (a) decide the which standard will be ratified for the proposed universal charger; (b) given there has been technology advances since the earlier approval for use of micro-USB; (c) mobile tablets etc have also proliferated in the marketplace; the directive would need to cover these too, as would the Directive's need to have applicablity to other forms of radio equipment using a charger supplied into the EU for consumer use.

Of the various connector types it could be the universal charger connector may come in several guises. Two that come to mind are Apple's Lightning connector and the new type-C connector USB3.1 recently annouce by the USB Standards Group. Both would already be in the marketplace before the two-year deadline has expired.

Apple's Lightning connector
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightning_(connector)







USB Standards Group type-C connector USB 3.1
http://www.usb.org/press/USB-IF_Press_Releases/Type-C_PR_20131203_Final.pdf
http://www.usb.org/developers/USB-Futures.pdf


Image Source - http://www.mrgco.com/blog/usb-3-0-promoter-group-announces-new-type-c-connector-for-usb/ 

Tools and Methods for Water Damaged Phones

Tools and Methods for Water Damaged Phones

It's worth recording the links from a discussion that has been being going on about water damaged phones:

Ultrasonic cleaning - http://www.ibreakityoufixit.com/shop/catalog/2
Vermiculite - http://www.cmmp-france.com/shawatecgb.html
Fingerprint Study - http://www.ucidiver.com/fingerprint_study.html
Solder Cleaning - www.tayloredge.com/reference/Science/solder_cleaning.pdf
Isopropyl alcohol - http://gorum.ca/clen-pcb.html
Non-forensic chip off - http://trewmte.blogspot.co.uk/2011/02/mobile-phone-chip-off.html
Reballing - www.emulation.com/pdf/102003BGA_Reballing_Instruction_Manual.pdf
Thermal Profiling - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_profile
RSS - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:RSS_Components_of_a_Profile1.svg
Thermal Sensor Probes - http://www.thermometersuperstore.co.uk/acatalog/Probes.html


Updated subject matter:

Hydrophobic Coatings on Electronic Devices

I have been looking further into mobile phone exposure to water to see whether there has been any research or techniques or processes used in manufacturing to combat water damage / corrosions etc. Hydrophobic Coatings appears to offer one solution.

More cell phones are damaged by water than by any other means, and this damage often requires the devices to be discarded. The number of damaged phones is also increasing because these phones are now taken almost everywhere. Chemical vapor deposition may be used to provide a solution to this problem. For example, the phones may be coated with a hydrophobic monolayer or multilayer of fluorosilanes. Bonding of the fluorosilane may be adopted for improvement purposes using a primary adhesion layer, which may be a different silane monolayer, e.g., an isocyanatosilane, and/or by introduction of hydroxyl groups via plasma treatment. The latter process is identified as typically rapid and economical and can be applied both on oxide and polymeric materials. The presence of OH groups can be assayed by XPS, ToF-SIMS and ATR-FTIR. The density of surface hydroxyl groups can be varied by changing the proportions of etch gases, the time and intensity of the plasma treatment, and the system base pressure. The hydrophobicity of the surface can be characterised by contact angle goniometry and XPS and ToF-SIMS analysis of fluorine. Resistance to abrasion can be tested with a Martindale abrasion tester.

These selection of applied treatments appear to reduce and slow down the water damage/corrosion and present improved chances of memory retention in unspoiled memory chips.

I see a relevance for knowing about treatments, such as the above, as it can help on many levels: as background prep knowledge, towards a recovered exhibit examination procedure, for use in advisory role as to why some water damaged phone exhibits could produce better results or capable of undergoing tests than others phones, and so on.

Chip Off, JTAG, NAND and YAFFS2

Chip Off, JTAG, NAND and YAFFS2

An article and a presentation identifying practices and concepts. Both contain add-value content with respect to the subject matter

Practitioner's view of Chip Off and JTAG

http://db.tt/ybQFitvS

Raw NAND flash and the YAFFS2 file system

http://db.tt/B379qsYM

Trace Log Generator

Trace Log Generator

I am looking into creating a new handset tool that generates a trace log of commands sent to the handset and responses received.

Quite a few times I have raised this and largely there is a stone-wall silence about why examiners 'cannot' or 'will not' provide the actual trace log associated with their examination, so that this can be checked. That is an unhealthy taboo to be active in forensics (and for evidence) and needs to be side-stepped.

The idea of the trace log that produces units of information and exported for consideration is similar to that generated by some imaging tools, which allow, as complete as possible, an examination.

This tool I believe should not compete with current tools in the same way that they perform, but the trace log should be inexpensive as the generated file will be a trace log, secured in such a manner that the original should not be altered by accident and when an examination takes place should avoid accidental contamination of the original. However, the managed principle extraction technique is based upon starting at binary and working upwards in order to allow the data to be viewed through independent products.

Additionally, I expect the trace log generator to perform tracing on a make-by-make basis, which means there should be a trace log generator module for each make. This will allow examiners to only buy what they need as opposed to have the reading capability of X-makes/models where it is an extremely low probability of examiners coming into contact with them.

There is a list of benefits but I suspect two key objectives that will benefit in the mobile forensics industry

1) Those whose job requirement limits them to push-button selection for reading an exhibit can produce the trace log first and then use another tool

2) Those who are experienced can use the trace log without needing to hector the less experienced to qualify what they have done during the acquistion examination period.

Additionally, I also envisage some form of (self)employment to arise out of this where programmers can create modules within the framework of the trace log generator and share in the revenue generation stream and at the same time see their contribution in a product generated by and for the forensic community.

I liked to know what you think?

Data and Time Stamps

Data and Time Stamps

An important issue to bear in mind when dealing with any analogue or digital device that contain a 'clock', for the production of a 'date and time stamp', is whether the clock's inaccuracy might not disbar evidence when considering the operation of the device and content found stored on/in a device.

McKeown was convicted of drink-driving following a Lion intoximeter breathalyser test. It was found that the date and time stamp was erroneous when compared to the material time of the breath test. On Appeal their Lordships identified that the fact that the date and time stamp was erroneous would not of itself prevent the 'machine' to still carry out an effective breathalyser test (DPP v McKeown [1997] 1 WLR 295).

Such cases provide useful material to research whether:

1) The ruling, could it be applicable to mobile/smartphones to carry out an effective process or recording where the clock is inaccurate?

2) What impact that might have regarding the admissibility of the content in files stored/residing on mobile/smartphones (or indeed tablets etc) could still be seen as unaffected due to an erroneous clock?

3) Could a clock's inaccurate date and time stamp allow content to be altered or amended before being presented for admissibility?

There are many layers of investigation involved in each of the narratives above, and there are other questions that haven't been raised.  Some food for thought, yes, but also a reminder that extracting and harvesting data  from a digital device is only a fraction of the work involved when dealing with mobile telephone evidence.

Happy Birthday Heinrich Hertz

Happy Birthday Heinrich Hertz

February 22, 1857 – January 1, 1894

A pioneer of radio signals and as a consequence the future of radio, all that is possible for wireless originates from the early discovery made by Heinrich Rudolf Hertz (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_Hertz) in proving the existence of radio waves. His pioneering works made reality that which was theorised of James Clerk Maxwell (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Clerk_Maxwell) discoveries, commonly referred to as Maxwell's Equations how electric charges and electric currents act as sources for the electric and magnetic fields by defining a series of equations for electromagnetism. In science lessons, apart from being reminded that radio waves are analogue in nature, sometimes lecturers may visually demonstrate the forces of electric and magnetic fields using the hand reference: thumb, index finger and middle finger. The thumb represents a active 'source', the index finger represents 'electric field' and the middle finger represents 'magnetic field' at right angles to the electric field.

Hertz demonstrated the existence of radio waves in experiements using two rods that served as a receiver and also a spark gap as the receiving antennae, so that where radio waves were detected a spark would jump, demonstrating radio signals possessed the properties of electromagnetic waves. Moreover, his work is attributed to identifying that radio waves have (i) a 'time' factor and (ii) that the velocity of radio waves was equal to the velocity of light.  Hertz experiements revealed to him how to separate (thus detach) electric and magentic fields from wires and roam in free space; or as Maxwell is attributed to have put it the 'ethereal wind'. 

Hertz
The unit of frequency of a radio wave is referenced as 'one cycle per second' and is named the 'hertz'.

Digital Signalling Background
http://trewmte.blogspot.com/2009/01/mobile-forensics-and-evidence-degrees.html

Smaller Caliber Guided Bullet

Smaller Caliber Guided Bullet

Said to reach a target upto 2K-metres this lazer guided bullet contains an optical sensor, CPU, battery and electromagnetic actuated fins, according to Sandia's spec document (.pdf) https://ip.sandia.gov/techpdfs/Small%20Caliber%20Guided%20Bullet%20SAND%202011-1847.pdf ). To get a feel for the range this guided bullet travel it can project further than radio coverage range from a 1-Km Microcell but falls short of radio coverage range from a 3-Km Small Cell.

As its patent was granted in 2010 and published details were made available 2011 this new development represents the changing face of ballistics. The size of the guided device is about the same as a mobile phone, so you may want to make a comparison by checking out the size of the bullet with different mobile phone sizes at http://phone-size.com/?s=1%2C2%2C3. It does make me wonder whether mobile phones could provide the firing and guiding mechanism for this projectile?    

Previous disucssion on mobile phones and ballistics
http://trewmte.blogspot.com/2008/11/mobile-phone-that-fires-bullets.html