The "Bear" Essentials of Digital Forensics 🐻

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The digital forensics world isn’t slowing down — and neither are we. In this episode, we celebrate Heather’s well-deserved recognition as Cellebrite’s Mentor of the Year 2025. Naturally, there were a few speech mishaps and, somehow, a bear raiding Heather’s bird feeder (yes, actual wildlife). But between the chaos, we get serious about the fast-changing landscape of digital evidence collection.

We dig into Amazon’s decision to remove the "do not send voice recordings" setting from Echo devices — meaning all voice requests now head straight to the cloud for AI training. It’s part of a growing industry trend, raising huge privacy red flags. We also unpack a study showing AI search engines misattribute sources at rates over 60%, and discuss how leaning too hard on generative AI risks dulling the critical thinking that digital forensics demands.

On the technical front, Christian Peter reveals that some forensic tools alter or delete unified logs during extraction — a serious concern for evidence integrity that can compromise investigations before they even begin. We also walk through a deep dive into Snapchat artifacts, showing how to connect media files to user actions and locations by following database breadcrumbs that automated tools tend to overlook.

Through it all, one theme stays clear: while technology keeps racing ahead, the responsibility for getting it right stays firmly with the examiner. As one guest bluntly put it, "We might be the last generation of cognitive thinkers."

Tune in for a sharp, insightful, and slightly unpredictable conversation at the intersection of bears, bytes, and the future of digital evidence.

Notes:

Mobile Forensics Are you nerd enough?

https://www.msab.com/events-webinars/webinar-are-you-nerd-enough/

New Podcasts!

https://osintcocktail.com/

https://www.youtube.com/@hexordia

Amazon "Do Not Send Voice Recordings" Privacy Feature

https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2025/03/17/amazon-echo-alexa-reporting-privacy/82503576007/https://www.thesun.co.uk/tech/33907850/amazon-alexa-echo-do-not-send-voice-recordings

AI search engines cite incorrect news sources at an alarming 60% rate, study says

https://arstechnica.com/ai/2025/03/ai-search-engines-give-incorrect-answers-at-an-alarming-60-rate-study-says/

The Slow Collapse of Critical Thinking in OSINT due to AI

https://www.dutchosintguy.com/post/the-slow-collapse-of-critical-thinking-in-osint-due-to-ai

NIST

https://www.nist.gov/news-events/news/2025/01/updated-guidelines-managing-misuse-risk-dual-use-foundation-models

Don't lose your logbook

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/dont-lose-your-logbook-christian-peter-ebcje

Not All Encryption is created equal

https://www.s-rminform.com/latest-thinking/cracking-the-vault-exposing-the-weaknesses-of-encrypted-apps