Hello all,
I am new to the forum as a poster, but have lurked as a reader for some time. Here is my situation
My agency recently put out a bid request for a mobile device forensics solution. In response to said bid request, we got two bids one from Cellebrite and one from Paraben. Obviously, the Paraben system comes in at about hal the price of the Cellebrite system.
In all the forensics-related training and conferences I've attended, Cellebrite has been commonly held as the go-to solution for mobile device forensics. When I spoke to folks about the paraben system, I got lukewarm (at best) reviews. However, all of that is obviously anecdotal and only marginally useful as a guide for which system we should purchase.
Can those of you with seat-time and/or some end-user level of exposure to the Cellebrite and Paraben systems chime in and offer your views of the pros and cons of them? I've had some exposure to the Cellebrite system (all of our local agencies and local federal offices that have mobile forensics are using Cellebrite for their needs), but I've not encountered any local users of the Paraben system.
Can Paraben deliver for the average law enforcement agency's mobile forensics needs, or are we shooting ourselves in the foot if we go this route? Is scrounging up the money for the Cellebrite system the better path to take?
I'm going to be grilled on these two systems by those who sign the checks here at my PD, so the more information I can have to present to them, the better.
Thanks to all of you for your time and consideration.
-MPD3373
I can offer this We use a multitude of mobile forensics tools to conduct analyses. Our main go-to tool is Cellebrite. The touch is great, the Physical Analyzer is excellent and a must have addition. Parsing physical dumbs and carving thereof is a breeze… and the reports are created in no-time with a professional look and easy viewing for crown/defense (DA/defense for US).
I'm not sure what you mean by "average LEA".. fact of the matter is that obtaining / extracting evidence is of utmost importance, regardless whether it's an agency with <10 officers or >1000. It really is budget dependent - CB is not cheap, but it is definitely worth the price of admission )
I recently went on the CB Certification course held by Root9B (taught by James McCarter - excellent training course and I would not hesitate in recommending it; James did an outstanding job) which showed me even more capabilities of the UFED PA that I had not been aware of, making it an even more invaluable addition to our mobile forensics tools.
In short If you can get the CB Touch - get it.
Ranger,
Thanks so much for your input! My agency has 135 sworn officers, so that gives you an idea of our size. We are located in the suburbs of a major metropolitan area of the US and (once we recevie whatever equipment we buy) I expect I will be analyzing at least 10-20 phones a month, maybe more.
Your recommendation of Cellebrite mimicks what I've heard since I entered the field almost seven years ago as a computer forensics technician.
How about, folks… can anyone add to what Ranger has posted, particularly their thoughts and experiences with the Paraben system?
-MPD3373
Cellebrite UFED hands down, portable and reliable very good reporting and very good user support.
I'd be very surprised if you find anyone that would recommend Paraben over Cellebrite, unless they work for Paraben 😉
I'd be very surprised if you find anyone that would recommend Paraben over Cellebrite, unless they work for Paraben 😉
I agree with the above. If you like pain, torture and frustration then Paraben is for you. If you like stuff which just works and whos R&D dept. continues to deliver innovative and industry first solutions then go for CelleBrite. roll
Guys,
Is it possible someone with seat time on both of these systems could speak with me in more detail via phone or email? If that's possible, please IM me so I'll have your contact information… the money folks at my PD are pushing hard for me to prove the Cellebrite system is worth the buy-in over the Paraben system and are not yet convinced. I'd like to have some professional end-user testimony to back me up.
Also, if there are any reviews of which y'all are aware (beyond the NIJ reviews, which I have) that I should read and use during my presentation, I would appreciate a link to where I might find said report(s.
Thank all of you SO MUCH for your help wth this!
MPD3373 to have access to other materials so as to cover as many bases as possible have you visited Bill Teel's website MobileForensicsCentral (http//
I have always thought it a good idea to have a comparison table of various tools and their capabilities. I am not going to reinvent the wheel, so it worth a look at MobileForensicsCentral if you can get the time and it might help give you some support in presenting your case. Perhaps I am wrong, and just missed the product, but I didn't see Paraben there but that shouldn't stop you creating your own comparison table to include side-by-side the virtues of the two tools you are considering.
Understandable that your PD wants to start somewhere to get a foot on the ladder but ForensicRanger's comments are apposite and constructive when he confirms there is no one-tool solution. This has been stated in the past by quite a number of practitioners at ForensicFocus.
Good luck.
MPD3373,
I'd be happy to supply you with 3rd party references in law enforcement that have used Device Seizure in some recent large cases. Please keep in mind a few things
1. Device Seizure 6 has added many supported phones & is by far our best and most comprehensive release yet.
2. When comparing just the software and cables, Device Seizure is as much as 1/6 the cost of other tools.
3. Although a great resource, other sites are comparing versions of Device Seizure that are 3+ years old. That's a lifetime in mobile forensic products and thousands of phones that are supported that these sites say are not supported.
I'd love to provide you with a 30 day key for Device Seizure so you can use the full version first hand to see how it performs.
Anyone else interested in this offer can PM me.
Thanks,
Rob Schroader
MPD3373,
I'd be happy to supply you with 3rd party references in law enforcement that have used Device Seizure in some recent large cases. Please keep in mind a few things
1. Device Seizure 6 has added many supported phones & is by far our best and most comprehensive release yet.
2. When comparing just the software and cables, Device Seizure is as much as 1/6 the cost of other tools.
3. Although a great resource, other sites are comparing versions of Device Seizure that are 3+ years old. That's a lifetime in mobile forensic products and thousands of phones that are supported that these sites say are not supported.I'd love to provide you with a 30 day key for Device Seizure so you can use the full version first hand to see how it performs.
Anyone else interested in this offer can PM me.
Thanks,
Rob Schroader
Rob, that seems a fair solution - try it and compare it before you buy it.