RAAS: A Model for Remote Forensic Acquisition of Android Smartphones

In the current era of digitalization, the need for effective forensic methodologies for remote data acquisition from Android devices has become essential to facilitate access to devices in remote locations. This research aims to propose a model for the remote acquisition of Android smartphones and to validate this model through the development of the 'Remote Acquisition for Android Smartphone' (RAAS) system. The validation used a rooted Android phone to get complete data for examination. The proposed model follows NIST guidelines for mobile device forensics. The RAAS, developed with the Django Web Framework, serves as a validation for the proposed model. It is designed to optimize the digital forensic investigation process by facilitating the remote collection of digital evidence from Android devices. It includes developing acquisition methods using Android Debug Bridge and Netcat, comprehensive application testing, and intuitive UI/UX design, with special emphasis on the security and affordability of web applications. RAAS produces court-admissible evidence that includes authentication, authorization, non-repudiation, integrity, and accounting. Performance testing, encompassing acquisition speed, data integrity verification, resume capability, and compatibility with FTK Imager, demonstrated that RAAS is an effective and flexible remote data acquisition tool. The web-based architecture of RAAS further enhanced security and affordability, providing more efficient access than traditional forensic methods. In the future, the model can serve as a reference architecture for forensic communities to design their remote acquisition systems, and they may use RAAS as a proof of concept to provide a reliable and secure solution for remote data acquisition from Android devices.