Introduction
Mobile devices running the Android operating system occupy more than 80% of the mobile devices market. The variety of the operating system versions and the hardware platforms on which they are used provide a wide range of data extraction methods. There is no such range of data extraction methods for any group of the following mobile devices: iOS devices, Windows Phone devices, and BlackBerry devices.
The most common methods of data extraction from Android devices are as follows:
- Logical extraction: This method allows to extract only certain types of logical data, such as Phonebook, Calls, Messages (SMS/MMS), and so on. As a rule, logical extraction requires the installation of an agent program that helps the mobile forensic software to extract data from a device. The installation of the program on the device is required by the hardware features of the memory structure and security policy of mobile devices.
- Backup: This method allows to extract only logical data from a device...