Babar Iqbal Sets Another World Record
Babar Iqbal, a 14 year old whiz kid from Dera Ismail Khan, has set a world record by publishing his first research paper on digital forensic science. The field of Digital Forensic Science covers the recovery and investigation of data in digital devices and is often used to aid computer crime investigations.
Babar’s research pertains to Apple iDevices (iPad, iPhone, iPod) and has been accepted by the 8th IEEE International Conference on Innovations in Information Technology. He has been invited to present his research at the conference as well.
What sets his method apart is that it doesn’t require jailbreaking and can image an iDevice in less than 30 minutes.
Jailbreaking is gaining illegal root access to iOS, Apple’s operating system, through use of custom kernels. Devices which run iOS include the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. On a jailbroken device, one could download application, themes and other stuff that is unavailable through the official Apple store.
This new method can aid law enforcement agencies in retrieving digital forensic evidence present on the phone including contacts, texts, all multimedia items as well as GPS info and Cellphone tower logs which can triangulate location of device at certain point in time.
This isn’t the first time Babar has been in the spotlight, a programmer since the age of 5, he became the youngest Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) as well as the youngest Certified Internet Web Professional (CIWA) at the age of nine.
He then went on to become the youngest Certified Wireless Network Administrator (CWNA), youngest Microsoft Student Partner (MSP) and youngest Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) in .NET 3.5 at the age of 10, 11 and 12 respectively.
Babar is currently in Dubai, where he is training and working with Microsoft. The links for his website and Students Café, his initiative to create awareness about Information Technology in Pakistan and around the world at all levels of education, are given below:
Orignal Post Of Babar Iqbal
I am very happy & excited to share that my research has been accepted by 8th IEEE International Conference on Innovations in Information Technology (Innovations'12):
"A Novel Method of iDevice(iPhone,iPad,iPod) Forensics without Jailbreaking"
Details:
I have published my first Digital Forensic Science[1] research paper discussing my new method of Apple iDevice Forensics (iPhone, iPod, iPad). Research has been accepted by 8th IEEE International Conference on Innovations in Information Technology IIT'12 and I have been invited for presentation in the above stated conference. This method is unique, unlike the previous techniques does not require jailbreaking[2] process and takes less than 30 minutes to image the iDevice. This new method can be used by law enforcement agencies to obtain valuable digital forensic evidence such as User Contacts, Call Logs, Emails, Messages, User Photos & Videos, Documents, GPS information and Cellphone tower logs. Cellphone tower logs can also be used to triangulate location of device at certain point in time.
[1]Digital Forensic Science (DFS) is the use of scientifically derived and proven methods toward the preservation, collection, validation, identification, analysis, interpretation, documentation and presentation of digital evidence derived from digital sources for the purpose of facilitating or furthering the reconstruction of events found to be criminal, or helping to anticipate unauthorized actions shown to be disruptive to planned operation.
[2]Jailbreaking, is the process of removing the limitations imposed by Apple on devices running the iOS operating system through use of custom kernels. Such devices include the iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, and 2nd Gen Apple TV.
Babar Iqbal
