SIM Card Data Extraction in Digital Investigations: A UFED Cellebrite Approach

Abstract

In the present-day crime investigation scenario, the first evidence of crime was searched for or obtained from mobile phones. Significant data of importance could be present in the internal and external memory modules and SIM cards of mobile phones, which assume vital parts as evidence. The Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card is one of the most fundamental parts of any cell phone and contains significant data, such as ICCID, IMSI, SMS, and Call Logs, which have incredible evidential value in forensic examination. SIM card forensics is thus a promising region that can provide plenty of evidentiary information to forensic examiners. This paper presents the SIM structure, various service providers in India, and SIM data extraction by logical and file system methods using UFED Cellebrite and its analogy using SIM cards of different service providers.