Understanding Safari forensics
Analyzing artifacts that have been left by internet browsing activity is typically a crucial aspect of mobile forensic investigations. Almost every activity a suspect performs while using a browser on a mobile device leaves a trace on the device itself, including, of course, searching for information and browsing through web pages.
In this section, we'll focus on the browser that is built into all iOS devices, Safari. Keep in mind that dozens of third-party browsers can be installed on a device, such as Chrome, Firefox, and Opera: it's important to review these applications and analyze their artifacts as they could potentially contain important data. We'll learn how to analyze third-party applications in Chapter 10, Analyzing Third-Party Apps.
Browsing history is likely the most commonly recovered item, but other files should be reviewed too. Typically, the following data can be recovered by analyzing Safari artifacts:
- Browsing...
