Why clone SIM card can help to extract data ?

Just general good practice, some phones will not allow a logical extraction without the original SIM.

Some phones can be triggered to wipe if their SIM is removed.

Blackberry handsets quite commonly have a 'this is not the sim that was in it' last time type message.

All of these problems aren't obvious until you encounter them, then it is often too late.

In some cases where the phone is comepletely inaccessible due to lack of tools etc. the clone SIM can be quite useful to do a 'quick and dirty' copy the contacts to the SIM and then extract the contacts from the SIM afterwards if that is all you need.

Hope this clears it up

Hi mobileforensicswales,

Thanks for your reply and comments they are relevant and clear.

Yet I 've already heard from more experienced colleague that if extraction failed you could try it again but with a sim card "it can help you never know…"
And I have in my mind a case met several months ago about a non secure dumb phone, the UFED's instructions didn't talk about leave a sim card inside. When the extraction failed I retried with a sim card and it worked, I was bale to perform the extraction with a sim card.

I have also in my mind an other extraction which on the first try didn't work, the UFED displayed some tips check the cables, battery..etc and in particular insert a sim card… In this case I just retried a second time without a sim card and it worked. So insert a sim card seems to be a kind of a tips also for UFED.

So why insert a sim card can help you never know…

Best regards

sam305754, one conclusion you may have come to about your own findings (mentioned in your posts) that the requirement of a mobile phone / smart phone needing a SIM card inserted when powered ON is "not" needed for every phone.

Your investigation hopefully will lead you back to the make/model of handsets you examined and also the mobile networks they may have been connected and mobile operators from which they received services. Also the type of handset (mobile/feature/smart) and the year of use (handsets in 1996 are different from 2002, and 2002 to 2008 and 2008 to 2012 and so on…)

In your original question you asked about test cloned SIM Cards and you received a response of why a cloned test SIM Card might help you.

Your second question is more clearer in that, if I understand correctly, you are asking why generally an ordinary user of a mobile phone can be required to insert a SIM Card into the handsets before it can be accessed(?) That if the feature is there generally when you come to examine the handset using UFED or whichever tool that a similar requirement maybe be needed, too(?)

1) Operator brand profile of handset may have locked SIM Card to handset (e.g. Vodafone, etc)
2) Handset boot-up requires insertion of SIM card before proceeding (e.g. virgin mobiles etc)
3) Orange mobile operator used to require verification and validation with ME-SIM together before handset could be used
4) PIN required
5) Some corporate handsets that have CTS-MS capability have FP-SIM card checking

and the list goes on…

A good place to start looking is here http//www.3gpp.org/specifications/specification-numbering because if a non-mandatory feature is used and there is a standard for the feature then convention has it the feature (as mandated by the standard) must be completely implemented in accordance with the designated standard (TS) or adopted report (TR) so that other manufacturers/operators can apply the feature.

Also see
http//trewmte.blogspot.co.uk/ (general searches)
http//sim2usim.blogspot.co.uk/ (general searches)
http//trewmte.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/considering-clone-test-sim-card-tools.html
http//trewmte.blogspot.co.uk/2008/11/cloning-test-sim-cards.html

Hello,

As I am not an english native speaker may be my first question wasn't cleary asked ? .
However the two replies I got give me information. So thanks to mobileforensicswales and trewmte.

Best Regards