Drone forensics: a guide for investigators
Brief
Key takeaways
- Drone forensics is the recovery and analysis of everything a drone generates in flight: flight telemetry, onboard media, sensor data, and communication artifacts, to place the device, its operator, and its purpose.
- Drone forensics breaks the instincts examiners bring from mobile forensics: a live drone can call back to its operator, physically endanger an examiner, or overwrite its own evidence just by staying powered on.
- Render safe, power off, and secure, in that order, before any extraction begins. In drone forensics, sequence and speed matter as much as technical skill.
- Drone use is growing across corrections, border security, critical infrastructure, and aviation, and forensic exploitation is showing up in a much wider range of casework as a result.
A drone that shows up in an investigation isn’t just another device.