Tag Archives: investigation

Cyberbullying Evidence and Cell Phone Service Provider Data Retention

Article posted by Sameer in April 4, 2011 at 7:55 am.

(12 votes, average: 4.92 out of 5)

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Educators and parents are often interested in learning about digital evidence and its collection. Many times, they (or the youth they care for) help with collecting evidence to depict cyberbullying instances by taking screenshots (see our instructional guide here) or using freeware or commercial software to record chat logs, instant messaging conversations, emails, and social networking site interactions. A question frequently arises related to cell phones, text messages, and picture/video messages and content. How easy is it to obtain access to cyberbullying evidence in these forms and from these devices or the routers and servers through which cell phone data is transmitted?

Well, the best case scenario is to obtain the content from the victim’s phone or the offender’s phone. However, they may have already deleted it from their personal devices. If the content may be evidence of a criminal offense, law enforcement can conduct a digital forensic examination and pull the content off of the internal flash memory of the phone or on the SIM card unless it has been overwritten by new data. You may have to move past your local police and contact the state or county police in these instances, as only larger departments seem to have the technical expertise and resources to assist in this manner.

The second-best case scenario is to obtain the digital evidence from bystanders – from other students at school (or peers in the community) who may be "in the know." Typically, other youth hear about the bullying or harassment or mistreatment somehow. Maybe the aggressor has proudly shared what she did with her friends. Maybe the victim forwarded the content to his buddy to ask him for advice on what to do. Maybe the evidence is being circulated and posted far and wide. Adults should put on their invesigative hat and ask around. Usually, the evidence will surface.

The last-stab scenario is to try to obtain the content from cell phone service providers. Unfortunately, most do not retain text messages nor photo or video content shared via the devices. Here is what we know:

	Verizon	AT&T	Sprint / T-Mobile	Alltel	Virgin Mobile
Call logs	1 Year	5-7 Years	2+ Years	90 Days – 7 Years	2 Years
Text Messages	3-5 Days	Not Retained	Not Retained	7 Days	60-90 Days
Text Details	1 Year	5-7 Years	2 Years	7 – 730 Days*	2 Years

By text details, we mean the date, time, and sender/receiver phone numbers of the text messages. No provider seems to store any picture or video content sent or received between cell phones.With regard to text messages being stored, they are only stored for the specified amount of time immediately following their transmission.

If you have any additions/corrections, please let us know so that our information is up-to-date. We look forward to continuing this dialogue on digital evidence issues in the future.

Tags: cell phones, evidence, investigation.
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Teachers, Administrators, and the Search of Student Cell Phones

Article posted by Sameer in January 31, 2011 at 6:10 pm.

(10 votes, average: 4.40 out of 5)

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As we know, students use their smart phones and cell phones to engage in cyberbullying or other forms of teen technology misuse at school, regardless of the presence of formal policies that prohibit their display or use during some or all hours of the school day. Ask any professional at a middle or high school, and they will tell you that violations of the rules occur with regularity. Additionally, the issue is highly-charged and complicated, based on the numerous comments on our blog about cell phone search and seizure at school. Unfortunately, it seems to me that the vast majority of those involved (school personnel and students) still don’t have a meaningful idea as to their rights – and what is or should be allowed at school with regard to the confiscation of, and evidence acquisition from, these devices.

I’d like to ask our readers to skim through the comments and see what I mean. Why do you think we can’t seem to make much forward progress here? With an increasing amount of cell phone usage among our teens, and with more students owning smartphones, it is critical that we come to some sort of consensus that informs our investigation and response protocols. Justin and I are scrutinizing case law and front-line experiences across school districts in our country, writing book chapters and articles on the subject, and are personally committed to providing practical, unclouded guidance here over the next few months.

Tags: audience participation, cell phones, investigation, search.
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Obtaining Cyberbullying Evidence from Third Parties at School

Article posted by Sameer in January 17, 2011 at 5:14 pm.

(8 votes, average: 3.88 out of 5)

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Here is a recent question submitted that we thought could help others in a similar situation: “In my role as a school administrator, many of the accusations regarding cyberbullying come from third parties. I am unable to produce evidence on the accused offending party because I do not have access to their media device (i.e. texts on cell phone, or access to their social network page). What do you recommend administrators do to address this matter when a third party relates the information? How do we “get the goods” on the accused?”
A: In this situation, it is important to first evaluate the reliability and validity of the statements made by the third party. Is this person known to lie about things like this? You always have to think about the possibility that the case might eventually make its way to court – and if it does, the reputation of the source of the accusation might be an issue. Otherwise you could encourage the third party to have the victim come in to talk to him, or the administrator could approach the victim directly to get the evidence. To be sure, you should also have policy on the books stating that administrators can seize and search the devices of youth where there is reasonable suspicion that a school policy violation has occurred, or that he or she has behaved in a way that infringes upon the rights of another student (or students) to feel safe at school. Then, I would get the digital evidence from the third party or from other students you identify during your investigation that might have evidence on their phones as well. Of course, if a crime has possibly been committed, you can work with law enforcement to subpoena the evidence from the content service provider, cell phone service provider, or Internet service provider. If the child just messed up and acted unwisely and on emotion – call him or her into the office and convey the severity of their offense, and determine if he or she just made a mistake. If so, give them a second chance and exact a minor sanction. If not, consider a more severe penalty.

Tags: cell phone, investigation, response, search.
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