Case study

Removing the
burden of finding
digital proof

Discover how Cellebrite’s analytics solution

is redefining the McLennan County District
Attorney’s investigative process

Agency On May 17, 2015, a biker gang shootout erupted at the

McLennan County, Texas
District Attorney’s Office Twin Peaks Restaurant near Waco, Texas, killing nine
and injuring dozens. More than a hundred mobile phones
Solution were recovered from the incident, setting the wheels in
Analytics Enterprise motion for one of the state’s largest and most challenging
investigations to date. A long-standing partnership with
Cellebrite delivered a game-changing pilot of Analytics
Enterprise in late January, immediately streamlining their
digital forensics capabilities and investigative processes.
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A new digital forensics reality

The events that unfolded at the Twin Peaks restaurant thrust McLennan County
law enforcement into an urgent new reality. With more than one hundred
phones to process, the operational constraints of their current forensics
human resources required an increased ability to process and identify valuable
information in such a complex case.

“We knew right out of the gate that dealing with the sheer number of phones
recovered was going to be an extremely challenging task,” said an assistant
district attorney with the McLennan County District Attorney’s Office. “Our local
law enforcement agency gave us a dedicated officer to review and analyze the
contents of every extracted device, but even he could only get through 15 devices
in three to four months’ time.”

“The solution delivered Game-changing intelligence on demand

everything Cellebrite
Cellebrite’s ongoing relationship with the county provided a unique opportunity
said it would – and for the District Attorney’s office and local law enforcement. In January, after
more – and was very meetings to discuss the available forensics tools to address the enormity of the
easy to use.” case, they decided to pilot Cellebrite’s Analytics Enterprise solution. Within days
of the decision to deploy, it allowed both investigators and prosecutors to import
and decode all extracted mobile digital forensics data from one centralized
location for fast and efficient analysis. Call records, text messages, photos,
videos and social media posts could be filtered by keywords and tagged for other
members of the investigative team to view instantly.

“Cellebrite totally changed the paradigm of the case by providing us access to

the Analytics Enterprise solution,” said the McLennan County prosecutor. “Initial
arrests had already been made, so it allowed us to go back and more quickly
comb through the data to find the bigger picture details we needed to confirm
the motives, plans and goals of these motorcycle organizations. The solution
delivered everything Cellebrite said it would – and more – and was very easy
to use.”
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An agency-wide investigative platform

Analytics Enterprise supports a complete, end-to-end, digital forensics workflow
that eliminates manual analytical processes that drive time and cost into
investigations. Powerful, advanced analytic engines layered within a server-based
centralized forensics data repository quickly correlate, decode and index all
forensics data sources to reveal critical insights. The scalable platform enables
tens or even hundreds of users – forensic specialists, detectives, investigators,
analysts, agency management, attorneys, outside experts – to collaborate on a
case or perform cross-case analysis simultaneously.

Analytics Enterprise simplifies the complexity associated with managing and

correlating forensic digital data with:

• Powerful analytics that rapidly and automatically correlate, filter and mine
large sets of digital evidence from disparate data sources and cases to produce
“In just two months, this actionable insights
solution has not only • Robust permission management and secure, role-based web clients that
served as a valuable support simultaneous, collaborative workflows to maximize resources, speed
partner in the Twin decision making and share case data efficiently

Peaks case, but is • C

 ross-case investigative workflows that enable multiple users to easily and
simultaneously search case data by subject, crime type or time period
also providing critical
• Seamless integration with existing agency IT ecosystems and programs to
gang, drug and general maximize current technology investments
criminal intelligence for “In just two months, this solution has not only served as a valuable partner in the
the entire state.” Twin Peaks case, but is also providing critical information for the entire state,”
said the prosecutor.

The District Attorney’s office credits the platform for identifying additional
offenses related to the Twin Peaks shoot-out that resulted in arrests. Without
this new capability, it would have been months or years before these offenses
were discovered.
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“Our case preparation?” Empowering two investigative perspectives in parallel

the prosecutor said, “has
now reduced immensely
due to the use of this
innovative platform. It’s
truly transforming how
we are approaching
digital case evidence –
an unbelievably
valuable capability.”
“The real power of this solution lies in the actionable intelligence it provides to
every user, as their goals can be different,” said the McLennan County prosecutor.
“I see it like an hour glass. When an investigator or forensics practitioner analyzes
mobile digital data, they are looking at it from a pre-arrest perspective – they
need to narrow down critical details to link to one person, one action, etc. As a
prosecutor, I’m looking at it from a post-arrest perspective, so I want to view all
the information to paint a broader picture – why did a suspect commit the crime?
Who was involved? What was the motive? I’m searching to find punishment
evidence, looking into the details of a subject’s life. Both perspectives are equally
important, as they tell the whole story, but are fundamentally different.”
The McLennan County prosecutor said use of the Analytics Enterprise solution
has truly transformed what was described as a previously burdensome analysis
process that prosecutors and others in law enforcement dreaded. Now, once
phones are dumped by forensics, the data is instantly available for easy and
thorough analysis throughout the investigation.

“Our case preparation?” the prosecutor said, “has now reduced immensely due to
the use of this innovative platform. It’s truly transforming how we are approaching
digital case evidence. It’s an unbelievably valuable capability.”

Digital intelligence for a safer world

Digital data plays an increasingly important role in
investigations and operations of all kinds. Making data
accessible, collaborative and actionable is what Cellebrite
does best. As the global leader in digital intelligence with
more than 60,000 licenses deployed in 150 countries, we
provide law enforcement, military and intelligence, and
enterprise customers with the most complete, industry-
proven range of solutions for digital forensics, triage
and analytics.
By enabling access, sharing and analysis of digital data
from mobile devices, social media, cloud, computer and
other sources, Cellebrite products, solutions, services and
training help customers build the strongest cases quickly,
even in the most complex situations. As a result, Cellebrite is
the preferred one-stop shop for digital intelligence solutions
that make a safer world more possible every day.
To learn more, visit www.cellebrite.com

© 2017 Cellebrite Inc. All rights reserved.

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