Serialization is a process whereby data objects are preserved during storage on a computer system. Serializing data preserves the original type of the object. That's to say, we can serialize dictionaries, lists, integers, or strings into a file. Sometime later, when we deserialize this file, those objects will still maintain their original data type. Serialization is great because if, for example, we stored script objects to a text file, we wouldn't be able to feasibly reconstruct those objects into their appropriate data types as easily. As we know, reading a text file reads in data as a string.
XML and JSON are the two common examples of plain text-encoded serialization formats. You may already be accustomed to analyzing these files in forensic investigations. Analysts familiar with mobile device forensics will likely recognize application...
