Table of contents:

1. Tasking and Validation

This forensic examination was conducted following the request from the National Forensic Institute of Nocatland, which tasked us with investigating a smartphone involved in a criminal case where the suspect is accused of illegal cat-related activities, including possession of photos of real cats and petting. The investigation operates under Nocatland’s legal framework, which strictly prohibits both possession of photos of cats and the act of petting cats. In addition, machine-learning-generated images of cats fall into a legal gray area and require special attention.

The goals of the examination were specifically outlined by the task force as follows:

  1. Determine the number of photos of real cats on the device and whether these photos were taken by the phone’s camera or downloaded from external sources.
  2. Identify any AI-generated cat images, as these fall into a legally ambiguous area and need to be highlighted separately.
  3. Investigate evidence of cat petting: If the suspect has pet a cat, determine who did it, when, where, and how many times it occurred. Establish if it was serial petting (multiple times or multiple cats), as this may carry severe legal consequences under Nocatland law.
  4. Evaluate attempts to obstruct justice: Assess whether the suspect tried to hide or destroy evidence, which could result in a more severe penalty.
  5. Identify any accomplices who may have been involved in the illegal activities.

The completion of the examination will be validated by meeting these defined goals, ensuring all key questions set by the task force are addressed.

2. Identification, Acquisition & Preservation

The smartphone was acquired using XRY by the first responder.

Hashes (SHA256) of the examined files:

3. Device Information