iOS Forensics Through iTunes.
A scientific and practitioner-focused study documenting iOS forensic analysis using iTunes backups, open-source DFIR tooling, reproducible environments, and evidentiary frameworks.
Abstract
The forensic analysis of iOS devices has become increasingly constrained by platform-level security mechanisms such as hardware-backed encryption, secure enclaves, and application sandboxing. This study presents a reproducible, non-invasive forensic methodology centered on iTunes backup analysis.
Using open-source Digital Forensics and Incident Response (DFIR) tooling, the research documents evidence preservation, cryptographic integrity validation, artifact extraction, timeline reconstruction, and report delivery. Emphasis is placed on legal defensibility, methodological rigor, and transparency, rather than exploit-based access or proprietary tooling.