An overview and analysis of PDA forensic tools

Mobile handheld devices are becoming evermore affordable and commonplace in society. When they are involved in a security incident or crime, forensic specialists require tools that allow proper extraction and speedy examination of any digital evidence present. This paper gives an overview of forensic software tools for Personal Digital Assistants (PDA). A set of generic scenarios was devised to simulate evidentiary situations and applied to a set of target devices to gauge how selected tools react under various situations. The paper summarizes those results, giving a snapshot of the capabilities and limitations of present day tools, and also provides background information on PDA hardware and software.