Safeguarding Digital Evidence: Unlocking the Power of the Mission Darkness NeoLok Faraday Bag With Battery Kit

As digital forensics officers, your role in criminal investigations is crucial in securing and extracting vital evidence from seized devices, such as cell phones, tablets, and other communicable electronics. In this digital age, the tools you employ to access data and recover passwords from these devices have become more sophisticated. However, to achieve maximum efficiency and accuracy, it is essential to transport and maintain these devices in a secure manner until they can be properly examined. In this blog post, we will explore why a specialized faraday enclosure, specifically the Mission Darkness NeoLok Faraday Bag with Battery Kit, is indispensable for your investigations. This unique kit, purpose-built for forensics, is available in phone size and tablet size.

When a mobile device is seized, it is vital to maintain the integrity of its data and prevent any potential tampering or remote wiping attempts. By keeping the device isolated from wireless signals in a secure RF shielded enclosure, such as a trusted faraday bag, you significantly reduce the risk of chain of custody corruption and unauthorized access. This containment ensures that the evidence remains untainted until it reaches the hands of the digital forensics investigator.

Nowadays digital forensics tools rely on a live device to extract the most data and recover passwords effectively. These tools employ various sophisticated methods to bypass security measures and gain access to the device's data. Having the device powered on from the point of seizure, during transport, and throughout the examination allows investigators to utilize these tools to their full potential, maximizing the chances of successful data recovery.

Transporting a live device necessitates a reliable power source that keeps the device operational for an extended period. While a rechargeable battery inside a faraday bag can offer a cost-effective and simple solution, it is limited by the battery's capacity. Therefore, a long-lasting continuous charging solution is crucial to ensure the device remains live and accessible throughout the investigative process. It's important to invest in a large-capacity battery with the ability to continuously charge the device once it reaches 100% power. This is an important feature for digital forensics use, ensuring that the device stays charged. Standard power banks stop outputting power when they detect that the device plugged into them is fully charged. The downside of using a rechargable battery as a power source, is that you are limited in the amount of time you have to get the device to the analysis stage. The battery only lasts for so long before runnig out of power, and that time may be even more limited if the battery is not introduced fully charged.

Rechargable portable batteries may be the most cost-effective solution for keeping devices live for short periods of time, where as faraday bags with shielded filters offer a more reliable long-term charging solution. A faraday bag with a shielded filter allows the user to connect to a long-term charging solution, such as a power outlet or battery. Batteries can be swapped our or recharged this way, since they are attached to the outside of the faraday bag, as opposed to being stored inside of the faraday bag. However, these types of shielding and charging solutions come with a higher price tag, since the shielded filter is an expensive component. Although preferred, it is less feasible to provide a large amount of field officers with these types of bags due to budget constraints. That is why a simpler faraday bag with battery kit is the most popular cost-effective solution for keeping devices live during transport. The products below are specialized faraday bags with shielded USB filters and cable kits, if long-term charging is required and if the budget permits.

The Mission Darkness NeoLok Faraday Bag with Battery Kit (available in phone and tablet sizes) is a specialized solution tailored to meet the unique needs of law enforcement and digital forensics officers. This innovative product combines all the necessary features to ensure the security and accessibility of seized digital devices during transport and examination.

1. Secure RF Shielding: The NeoLok Faraday Bag with Battery Kit offers unparalleled protection against wireless signals. The bag is built with a durable and water-resistant ballistic nylon outer material to ensure that devices and faraday fabric stay dry and protected. The interior includes two layers of high-shielding TitanRF™ Faraday Fabric on all sides with dual paired seam construction. The bag will block all wireless signals including WiFi (2.4 & 5GHz), Bluetooth, cell signals including 5G networks, GPS, RFID, NFC, and radio signals from low MHz to 40GHz. It is used to keep small electronic devices shielded to prevent hacking, tracking, spying, and chain-of-custody corruption. When a cell phone is enclosed in the bag, no apps or malicious code can be remotely triggered or wiped, no communication can penetrate, and no one can access the microphone, camera, GPS location, or data.

2. Continuous Charging: Equipped with a rechargeable battery with two USB ports that continuously charges the device to maintain 100% power, this faraday bag ensures that the device remains live throughout transport until the investigative process, providing ample power for maximum passcode cracking and data recovery. Standard power banks stop outputting power when they detect that the device plugged into them is fully charged, which is problematic for forensics use since it allows the device to run out of power quicker, but the included battery's "Always On" mode delivers continuous power. LED lights on the front side display battery power level when activated.

3. High-Quality Cable Tips: The NeoLok Faraday Bag with Battery Kit comes with separate high-quality USB cable tips for various device connections, guaranteeing secure connections and reducing the risk of cable failure. It also includes a USB extension cable which makes connecting to the battery inside the bag easier. Individual cable tips simply attach to the exterior side and are swapped out as needed depending on device compatibility.

4. Patented NeoLok Magnetic Closure: NeoLok faraday bags are specifically designed to be used for transferring devices from the collection site to the lab. The bag's innovative magnetic closure seal easily opens inside of an analysis enclosure or forensic box without the worry of damaging conductive gloves, opposed to Velcro closure faraday bags which can cause abrasion.
5. Transparent Window: The window made out of transparent faraday fabric shows the battery power level and confirms that the device is charging inside the bag. Standard faraday bags do not offer a viewing window to view battery power level, device screens, and contents inside. This is an important feature for faraday bag's that include charging features.
6. Built-in Accessory Compartment: The NeoLok Faraday Bag with Battery Kit is constructed with an accessory compartment on the back side. It is spacious enough to store the unused battery, cables, and instruction card. Standard faraday bags do not include an accessory pocket.
7. Cost-Effective Solution: The affordable price point allows the bag to be widely deployed. By supplying more officers with these bags, a greater amount of uncorrupted evidence can be collected and analyzed, helping to process more cases faster.

As digital forensics officers, your work is vital to upholding justice and solving criminal cases. To maximize the efficiency and accuracy of your investigations, it is crucial to employ the right tools and practices. The Mission Darkness NeoLok Faraday Bag with Battery Kit is a comprehensive solution that meets all your requirements for field officers transporting and maintaining live devices securely. By utilizing this specialized enclosure, you can ensure the integrity of evidence, protect against chain-of-custody corruption, and enhance your data recovery capabilities to their fullest potential.