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4n6
Occasional Visitor
Joined: Jun 26, 2007
Posts: 4
Location: Staffs, UK
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 Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2007 12:43 pm Post subject: |
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@ robertn
In relation to RAM contents being available after restarting power, the only method of preserving such data that I can think likely is something similar to a 'swap file' in Windows. A swap file is used to store RAM-type data to disk for later use (usually in a matter of milliseconds) when RAM is full and cannot accomodate the data at the time it is presented. It is frequently overwritten (depending on its size and frequency of usage) but the last data to be written can be retrieved forensically from the hard disk. If something similar was happening with GPS devices, it would indicate that they do indeed have some local data storage capabilities within the device (without requiring data logging software or anything similar), even if it is only for 'RAM overflow' purposes......perhaps!
Are there any recent, commercial in-car devices that use flash memory in the same way as the early iCNs - please forgive any ignorance of SatNav systems that I show by asking this question!
@ all
Any other comments from the community on my earlier two posts would be well received. Thanks. |
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Skippy
Pocket GPS Verifier
Joined: 24/06/2003 00:22:12
Posts: 2946
Location: Escaped to the Antipodies! 36.83°S 174.75°E
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| Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2007 12:47 pm Post subject: |
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| 4n6 wrote: | | Could data loggers or handheld GPS devices be made robust enough for criminals to use to subvert any investigation into their real movements? Or could the data be altered without trace (Locard's Principle being bypassed) to introduce reasonable doubt, as in the case of the speeding motorist mentioned by robertn? |
It's difficult to say as any electronic device could have it's information faked. There are two scenarios I could think of:
1. A criminal produces a GPS unit with a tracklog indicating that he was in a different area at the time a crime occurred (ie as an alibi). I don't think this would stand up to well beacause:
Someone else could have been using the GPS unit or the tracklog data in the GPS unit could have been modified to create the alibi
2. If a criminal was caught in possession of a GPS unit and it was suspected that he was in a particular area at a particular time, the Police could use the tracklog as evidence that the GPS unit (and possibly the criminal) was in that area at the time.
In a similar way to mobile phone records, the criminal could deny they were using the unit at the time (someone else was using it) but depending on the circumstances it may be difficult to deny.
There are some interesting stories out there. One bloke marked all is dope plantations on his GPS. The Police downloaded the waypoints and used Google Earth to check them out. 
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/10/20/google_pot/
Another story of an Event Data Recorder which records the last few seconds of information before an airbag deploys. This one got a driver convicted:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/03/10/airbag_grasses_up_killer_driver/
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Gone fishing! |
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Darren
Frequent Visitor
Joined: 11/07/2002 14:36:40
Posts: 23848
Location: Hampshire, UK
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| Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2007 12:49 pm Post subject: |
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| 4n6 wrote: | | Are there any recent, commercial in-car devices that use flash memory in the same way as the early iCNs - please forgive any ignorance of SatNav systems that I show by asking this question! |
A few devices have used CF Hard Drives and some newer devices have now moved to flash ram for storage. The TomTom 910 had a 20Gb CF HDD, the new TomTom ONE's have 1Gb of Solid State Memory.
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Darren Griffin |
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