Rohit Tamma - Learning Android Forensics

Rohit Tamma is a security consultant working for a Fortune 500 company. With over 6 years of experience in the field of security, he is experienced in performing vulnerability assessments and penetration testing for web and mobile applications. He is currently focusing on mobile forensics on the Android platform. Rohit has also coauthored Practical Mobile Forensics , Packt Publishing . You can contact him at <> or on Twitter at @RohitTamma.

I would like to dedicate this book to my parents, my friends, and the countless number of people on whose shoulders we stand today.

Donnie Tindall is a digital forensics engineer at Dagger Networks, where he evaluates smartphone application security for various use cases and provides unique solutions to challenging forensic issues. Previously, he worked for Basis Technology, where he provided on-site mobile device forensics support for the U.S. government, including the development and teaching of mobile forensics courses to government and military users. Prior to that, he worked as a consultant for the FBI Terrorist Explosive Device Analytical Center, where he was responsible for handling mobile device forensics on media associated with improvised explosive devices. Donnie has performed thousands of mobile device extractions on Nokia, BlackBerry, Android, iPhone, and other devices. He is also an IACIS Certified Forensic Computer Examiner and instructor of FOR585, SANS Institute's smartphone forensics course. Donnie can be reached at <>.

First, I need to thank my wife, Amber, for putting up with me locking up myself in the office for hours at a time while writing this book. Also, thank you to my son, Dominic, for allowing me to use the computer long enough to get things done (without complainingmost of the time). And of course, thanks to my parents for helping me get where I am today.

A huge thanks goes to Heather "Hank" Mahalik and Lee "Leroy/Crogs" Crognale for thinking of me when this book was proposed. They have helped me immeasurably in my career. Much of what I wrote in my chapters would be wrong if it wasn't for the help of Dustin Frazebowing before your superior technical expertise is always a good idea, so thanks for trying to make me a little smarter. Jim Connor, thank you for the test devices that I could not buy myself and for answering the questions that were so dumb that Dustin ignored them. Finally, thanks to James Nuttall for his help with the mem RAM analysis tool in Chapter 5 and for showing me a few Android tricks along the way.

Tom Anderson is a software developer and forensic researcher with over 10 years' experience in mobile forensics. He currently works at NowSecure as the technical product manager for a forensics product and is also involved in security research.

I would like to thank my wife and my two beautiful daughters for their continued support and understanding. I would also like to thank my team at NowSecure for building an great forensics product.

Manish Chasta is a security researcher, analyst, author, speaker, and enthusiast, working with Indusface as the manager of managed security services. With an impressive career of over 9 years in mobile security, web application security, and cyber forensics, he has also spoken at prestigious security-related events and conferences.

Manish's vast experience includes auditing numerous mobile and web applications across the internet banking, core banking, finance, healthcare, CRM, telecom and e-commerce sectors. He has even authored numerous security-based articles. Over the years, many clients have benefitted from his training and workshop sessions on digital forensics, application security, and ethical hacking.

I would like to thank my beloved wife, Archana, my beautiful daughter, Mishi, my family, and teammates at Indusface for their encouragement and support that made it possible for me to review this book.

Heather Mahalik is a project manager and leads the forensic effort at Oceans Edge. She is the course leader for the FOR585 SANS Smartphone Forensics course and coauthors the Advanced Smartphone Forensics and Macintosh Forensics courses. With over 12 years of experience in digital forensics, she currently focuses her efforts on mobile device exploitation, forensic course development, instruction, and research on smartphone forensics.

Prior to joining Oceans Edge, Heather was the mobile exploitation team leader at Basis Technology, aiding the U.S. government. Previously, she worked at Stroz Friedberg and as a contractor for the U.S. Department of State, Computer Investigations and Forensics Lab. Heather earned her bachelor's degree from West Virginia University. She coauthored Practical Mobile Forensics , Packt Publishing , and has authored white papers and forensic course material. She has taught hundreds of courses worldwide to law enforcement, government, IT, e-discovery, and other forensic professionals, focusing on mobile devices and digital forensics.

My work on this book is dedicated to my husband and son. You are the two greatest men and the most important people in my life. Thank you for supporting me in my career and crazy endeavors!

Gudipaty Laxmikant Pratap is a digital forensics analyst, incident handler, cybercrime investigator, and smartphone forensics examiner. He has a master's degree (MS) in digital forensics and information assurance. He has expertise in imaging hard drives, flash drives, mobile devices, laptops, and desktops using hardware and software currently recognized and approved in the forensics field. He is proficient in automating forensic analysis using a wide array of tools currently recognized and approved by the court of law.