Tower dump
Definition
A legal demand directed to a mobile network operator for records of all devices that registered with one or more specific cell towers during a defined time window. Used to identify which phones were near a crime scene. Returns a large dataset requiring filtering to isolate devices of interest.
Related terms
- Cell Site Location Information (CSLI)
- Records held by a mobile network operator showing which cell towers a device registered with and when. Historical CSLI covers past registrations....
- Geofencing artifact
- A record generated when a device enters or exits a defined geographic boundary. Fitness apps, delivery apps, and smart-home apps create these...
- GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System)
- The family of satellite-based positioning systems including US GPS, Russian GLONASS, European Galileo, and Chinese BeiDou. Mobile chipsets typically support multiple constellations...
- Significant Locations
- An iOS feature that records frequently visited places using a combination of GPS, Wi-Fi, and cell data. Stored in an encrypted SQLite...
- Wi-Fi probe request
- A broadcast management frame that a Wi-Fi radio sends when scanning for known networks. The frame advertises the SSIDs stored in the...
Explained in
- Location History and Geolocation ArtifactsA legal demand directed to a mobile network operator for records of all devices that registered with one or more specific cell towers during a defined time win...