With the internet providing vast amounts of information, law enforcement agencies have more resources than ever for online investigations. However, this data is often spread across multiple platforms, requiring investigators to search each one separately, which consumes valuable time and slows down investigations. 

Many investigators still spend countless hours manually collecting data, a process that’s not only time-consuming but also prone to human error. The reliance on internal databases and outsourcing for data collection can further delay investigations, often resulting in case backlogs or dead ends. 

How can open-source investigation tools help?  

Open-source investigation tools speed up the process by enabling investigators to search across multiple platforms using a single identifier, such as a phone number, email address or username. This approach allows investigators to obtain information in minutes rather than hours. These tools reduce the effort needed to uncover critical details about suspects or victims, shedding light on online activities and potential leads.  

Key Benefits to Look for in a Tool   

• Ease of Use: Offers a straightforward interface that doesn’t require technical expertise or extensive onboarding. 

• Accelerated Data Collection: Quickly gathers information from multiple public sources at once, eliminating the need for intel requests, manual searches or maintaining profiles.  

• Information in One View: Compiles information about a person’s digital footprint—connected aliases, addresses and more—in a single, easy-to-read report. 

• Investigator Anonymity: Keeps investigators anonymous without requiring extra SIM cards, new accounts or VPNs. Anonymity is crucial in sensitive cases where revealing identity could jeopardize the investigation.  

• Streamlined Warrant Preparation: Identifies additional apps and sites that may be relevant to a warrant request, ensuring that necessary data is preserved and accessible faster.   

With the right open-source tools, investigators can gather information and produce comprehensive reports more efficiently. This reduction in time enables them to provide actionable intelligence in mere minutes, instead of hours or even worse – days. Additionally, these tools help ensure that each piece of information can be traced back to its source, upholding transparency, integrity, and defensibility in evidence collection. 

Real-World Applications  

Here are examples of cases where Cellebrite Smart Search, Cellebrite’s open-source search solution, has helped speed up investigations:

Online Threat

A local police department received 911 calls about a Twitter (X) post warning people to stay away from an area where a large local event was being held that day. Investigators performed a search on the username and within five minutes, Cellebrite Smart Search revealed information on the person behind the tweet and associated addresses so police could investigate if there was a real threat. Other investigators searched manually for 45 minutes, yielding no results.   

Homicide 

When investigators arrived on the scene of a homicide case they found limited physical evidence other than the victim’s phone. Upon legal access to the phone and reviewing the data, they found Instagram messages between the victim and an unknown person, discussing a meetup to settle a dispute. Investigators used Cellebrite Smart Search to quickly identify the person associated with that Instagram account, which furthered their case to help lead them to who was responsible for the death.  

Missing Teen 

A teen was reported missing, though it was unclear if it was a runaway case or if it warranted an AMBER alert. During a legal search of the teen’s laptop, police discovered conversations about a meetup with a person on TikTok, and investigators used Cellebrite Smart Search, which revealed that the username was linked to a grown man with multiple profiles posing as teens across different sites. This provided critical intel and insights for the next steps in the case. 

“Cellebrite Smart Search was instrumental in obtaining the information, which we wouldn’t have been able to find without it.”   
– Senior Investigator Timothy Connolly, Computer Crime Unit, US state-level law enforcement agency  

Conclusion 

The vast amount of data dispersed across online sources presents a significant challenge for many agencies. However, open-source tools like Cellebrite Smart Search offer a solution by enabling investigators to search multiple public sources simultaneously and generate reports quickly to advance their case. Ultimately, these tools empower investigators to uncover leads and verify crucial information faster, improving both the accuracy and speed of case resolutions.