Acquisition of a Symbian Smart phone’s Content with an On-Phone Forensic Tool

A smart phone is a handheld device that combines the functionality of a cellphone, a personal digital assistant (PDA) and other information appliances such a music player. These devices can however be used in a crime and would have to be quickly analysed for evidence. This data is collected using either a forensic tool which resides on a PC or specialised hardware. This paper proposes the use of an on-phone forensic tool to collect the contents of the device and store it on removable storage. This approach requires less equipment and can retrieve the volatile information that resides on the phone such as running processes. The paper discusses the Symbian operating system, the evidence that is stored on the device and contrasts the approach with that followed by other tools.