Cracking Smartphone Passwords in Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Case

Smartphones are likely to play a major role as key pieces of evidence in the high-profile investigation surrounding Sean “Diddy” Combs. As a digital forensics expert, I’ll walk you through the process law enforcement might use to access and examine these devices.

First, investigators must legally obtain search warrants or court orders to seize all potentially relevant smartphones. This process involves identifying the devices and documenting the chain of custody to ensure the integrity of the evidence. It is a critical first step that forms the foundation of the entire investigation.

Once the devices are seized and law enforcement is authorized to examine the data on the smartphones, there is another obstacle to accessing the evidence on the devices: modern smartphone encryption.

Sean Diddy Combs, 2007 Park City – Spotted in the City – Day 3 on Main Street in Park City, Utah … (+) United States. (Photo: James Devaney/WireImage)

Wire Image

With Smartphone Password

If someone involved in an investigation volunteers their device’s passcode, it’s the equivalent of digitally opening the front door and inviting investigators inside.

Once they have the password, investigators can perform a simple data extraction operation. They simply unlock the device and connect it to forensic software. This method provides relatively quick and comprehensive access to the device’s contents, including user data, application information, and system files.

The extraction process is relatively quick, typically completing within a few hours depending on the device’s storage capacity. This approach preserves data integrity and provides the most complete data extraction possible, including recovery of deleted files and data.

Without Smartphone Password

Without a password, investigators have to resort to more sophisticated methods, often using specialized tools like Cellebrite or Magnet Forensics’ GrayKey to bypass the device’s security measures.

Cellebrite and Graykey are advanced digital forensics tools that law enforcement and government agencies use to crack mobile devices and recover data when investigators do not have the device’s passcode.

This process takes more time, especially for devices with advanced security features, it can take days, weeks, or longer. The success rate is not guaranteed, especially for newer devices or updated operating systems.

An engineer demonstrates devices developed by Israeli firm Cellebrite and explains the technology … (+) Technology in Petah Tikva, Israel, on November 9, 2016. It takes just seconds for an employee of technology from Cellebrite, one of the world’s leading hacking companies, to pick up a locked smartphone and extract data from it. / AFP / JACK GUEZ (Photo credit should read JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

AFP via Getty Images

What Data Can Be Recovered?

Digital forensics can recover a wide range of data from mobile devices, depending on the access method and device security. In smartphone investigations, what is often recovered are types of deleted data that still exist and are recovered, including:

Text messages and chat logs from various applications
Call logs and contact lists
Emails and attachments
Photos and videos
Location data and search history
Social media activity and direct messages
Notes and calendar entries
Application usage data and stored credentials
Voice notes and audio files
Browser history and bookmarks
Documents and spreadsheets
Cloud storage access logs
Device backups and system logs

Smartphone evidence has become a cornerstone of modern criminal investigations, providing unprecedented insights into individuals’ activities, communications, and movements. Digital forensics has rapidly evolved to meet the challenges of increasingly sophisticated mobile devices and encryption methods.