Gang of thieves use iPod to hijack identities

• An iPod crammed with stolen identities and contact information of criminal associates.
• Before you think Apple has created the perfect socially acceptable, high-data volume criminal accessory, think again.
• Which gets us back to the above-mentioned crime: iPods have not only grown in capacity but in functionality as well; they include rudimentary contact management features, plus the ability to store data files of any kind.
• For example, members of the London gang were able to use their iPods to download and save copies of other people's bank statements, credit statements, and driver's licenses, as well as coordinate appointments at dealerships, and do so in plain sight of everyone.
• But before you think Apple has created the perfect socially acceptable, high-data volume criminal accessory, think again.
• Turns out Apple did some clever things within the iPod that should indirectly help criminal investigators and discourage would-be criminals.
• The authors, Christopher Marisco and Marcus K. Rogers, from Purdue University, point out that unlike PDAs, which have to remain charged or lose their data, iPods can remain in storage for a long time; that's good if a trial takes several years to commence, because the data will last.
• This can cause uneven wear on the drives.
• Coding within the file would tell investigators not only what machine (MAC address) but also what operating system (though file format also tells them that) and username was used.
• So if incriminating evidence is found on your iPod, they can connect it to a crime scene.
• I suspect the authors (or others) will attempt a similar paper on the flash-based iPod Shuffle and iPod Nano as iPods continue to surface as part of criminal investigations.
• To be safe, though, I recommend drilling several holes through the "dead" iPod to make sure the drive tells no tales.