Damaged Devices

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Oct 6
1 min

VTO Tips & Tricks: White it out

What do you do when you can't quite make out the engraved characters on the chip you want to identify? Grab some white correction fluid!

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Lauren Cochenour

Oct 1
2 min

What is underfill?

Underfill is a type of liquid polymer applied to the printed circuit board (PCB) after it has been subjected to the reflow process. It wi...

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Decontamination of Electronic Devices Explained

Team VTO

Sep 8
1 min

Decontamination of Electronic Devices Explained

Forensic laboratories are facing a growing threat for which they are unprepared. The risks to health and safety associated with the handl...

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Team VTO

Sep 1
1 min

VTO Tips & Tricks: Removing RF shields

Prying at a radio frequency (RF) or electromagnetic interference (EMI) shield using pliers or snips can damage the printed circuit board ...

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Lauren Cochenour

Aug 13
2 min

What is conformal coating?

Conformal coating is a protective chemical coating that is applied to parts of or all of the topography of the printed circuit board (PCB...

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VTO Tips & Tricks: Screen Before Teardown

Team VTO

Jul 28
1 min

VTO Tips & Tricks: Screen Before Teardown

It's a good idea to know all you can before beginning teardown of a device. An X-ray will provide lots of information before diving in.

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Decontamination of Electronic Devices – narcotics, bloodborne pathogens, and viruses

Team VTO

Jul 22
1 min

Decontamination of Electronic Devices – narcotics, bloodborne pathogens, and viruses

VTO Labs has created a proprietary process for the safe decontamination of electronic devices exposed to hazardous materials. Evidence th...

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Data Retrieval from an Unlikely Device – Satellite Connected Ocean Buoy

Team VTO

Jul 7
1 min

Data Retrieval from an Unlikely Device – Satellite Connected Ocean Buoy

At VTO Labs, we are frequently engaged by organizations needing to retrieve data from unusual devices. In November 2019, an industry coll...

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Data Recovered from Phone Submerged in Water for 5 YEARS

Steve Watson

Jun 30
1 min

Data Recovered from Phone Submerged in Water for 5 YEARS

In 2015, I started an applied research project to understand the effects of long-term water submersion on mobile phones. The first year I...

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Team VTO

Jun 9
1 min

New Video Series: Tips & Tricks

What should you do if you find a device in water? Find out in our first VTO Tips & Tricks video.

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Handling Evidence Exposed to Biohazardous Material

Team VTO

Apr 9
1 min

Handling Evidence Exposed to Biohazardous Material

This presentation stemmed from our own investigation and lab practices on dealing with evidence that has been exposed to toxic and biohazard

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Frozen Forensics: Exploring VTO’s radical new research on water damaged mobile devices

Jason Brown

Apr 8
6 min

Frozen Forensics: Exploring VTO’s radical new research on water damaged mobile devices

Can data be retrieved from a smart phone that has been in a frozen pond? The forensic scientists at VTO Labs needed to find out.

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A Mobile Phone Lost in a Boating Accident

Team VTO

Mar 17
1 min

A Mobile Phone Lost in a Boating Accident

"Our research shows that quite often, the data still exists on the chip even though the circuit board is severely damaged.” Watson said.

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Team VTO

Mar 10
1 min

Video - Damaged Devices Research

VTO Labs conducts leading research in the area of damaged devices. We have experience retrieving data from devices exposed to all manner of

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