Radio Tactics has announced the release of ATHENA V4.9, which takes the platform’s global capabilities even further with a faster extraction of data from progressively more data-rich media cards and a new application decoding capability to acquire vital information that’s increasingly held in proprietary formats on mobile devices.
As mobile phone handsets continue to evolve with ever more sophisticated photographic technologies, memory cards with vast data volumes are being relied up for storage of still and video images; a capability that can significantly increase the length of time required to extract the raw data. However, in this the latest update to the ATHENA product family, a more rapid media card data extraction functionality that can save up to half the time at the media card acquisition stage is included. Early screen prompts have also been incorporated that enable the memory card to be removed while the new data file system is actively being built.
The extent to which smartphone applications are being assimilated into hostile and criminal activity has also been countered with ATHENA V4.9’s application decoding capability, which is supported when used with the latest version of Radio Tactics’ Analysis Suite. Dedicated decoders can now extract and view invaluable data on suspect devices, from user details, app passwords and contact details to instant chat message logs.
Decoders for BlackBerry handsets include BlackBerry Messenger (BBM), Yahoo! Messenger, Google Talk and MSN while Apple iOS device application decoders include Dropbox, eBay, Facebook, Google+, Google Maps, KiK, Safari, Skype, WhatsApp, Yahoo! Messenger and many more.
'The meteoric rise of the smartphone app has handed a suite of new communication tools to mobile device users looking for sophisticated ways to conduct hostile activity that, on the surface, appears highly covert,' explains Alex Stevenson, Radio Tactics’ Principle Developer. 'We’ve addressed ways to combat this capability with a series of application decoders that cover the most popular apps to ensure vital data can be extracted and viewed in a systematic manner.'
In addition to this raft of app development, ATHENA 4.9 has enhanced its multitasking capability with support for Android 4.0’s ‘Ice Cream Sandwich’ operating system, extended validated CDMA handset coverage and optimised the behaviour of lower level USB protocols that can bypass user-defined phone locks on validated handsets.
Support for a further 111 popular handsets has also been integrated into the V4.9 release, including the Apple iPhone 4S.