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FBI Exposes Cellular Data Evidence Availability from Major Carriers

October 26, 2021

Let’s face it, a growing number of people don’t even have a land line and their smartphone is a primary method of communication. We deal with a lot of cases involving data from mobile phones.  A key question we get asked quite often is “What data can you retrieve from a smartphone?” Attorneys hate the “it depends” answer. Relevant data may not only exist on the mobile device itself but may be retained by the wireless carrier. Thanks to a Motherboard post, we have documents showing the granular detail of what data cellular carriers retain and for how long. Motherboard identifies the FBI’s internal guide for getting data from Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile. As an example, “The presentation provides more recent figures on how long telecoms retain data for. AT&T holds onto data such as call records, cell site, and tower dumps for 7 years. T-Mobile holds similar information for 2 years, and Verizon holds it for 1 year.”

The FBI’s 139 page slide presentation is the FBI CAST (Cellular Analysis Survey Team) Cellular Analysis & Geo-Location Field Resource Guide. The FBI provides its cell phone data visualization tool called CASTViz to law enforcement for free. “CASTViz has the ability to quickly plot call detail records and tower data for lead generation and investigative purposes.”

Attorneys will find several of the charts useful for their matters. The availability of electronic evidence from various mobile carriers will stop costly efforts chasing data that isn’t retained and help make data requests much more targeted and likely to return relevant information.

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