9now.nine.com.au
'Anomaly' in digital data could be crucial clue to Samantha Murphy's disappearance
Last Friday, Victoria Police revisited the Mount Clear area, prompted by intelligence extracted from Samantha Murphy's mobile phone data, in their ongoing investigation into her disappearance.
The digital data allowed detectives to ascertain that on February 4, Murphy departed her residence and ran approximately 7km through Woowookarung Regional Park, ultimately arriving at Mount Clear.
The significance of the 7km distance is crucial. What unfolded in this location to prompt the police to return?
Former Australia Federal Police officer and professor of cybersecurity,
Nigel Phair told Liz Hayes on Channel 9's series Under Investigation with Liz Hayes he believes an "anomaly" or "change in the behaviour" of Murphy's data pattern may have prompted authorities to return to the Mount Clear area last Friday.
Phair formerly headed investigations at the Australian High Tech Crime Centre (AHTCC).
Phair explained that Murphy's iPhone and Apple Watch would monitor various biometric data such as heart rate, stride length, altitude and even detect falls, with both devices constantly logging her GPS coordinates.
Additionally, Murphy's iPhone can be precisely located using triangulation from nearby cell phone towers.
"From the second that she walked out of her door, when out on the street, they would be able to see where she was moving and how she was moving," Phair said.
Phair said that this type of data is extremely reliable and accurate and the disturbance in this data at the 7km mark reveals some form of sophistication.
"That means someone's done something active against those two devices and you have to know what you are doing to think I'm going to completely take these out," he said.
"It's not just turning them off, it's destroying them and then getting rid of that piece of evidence."
Tampering with devices takes significant effort but Phair explained though criminals may attempt to change SIM cards, mobile phones, if on, are still traceable.
"A device has two signifiers. It has a phone number, which you can change, call that the software signifier," he said.
"Then it has a hardware identifier, which is the IMEI number."
Phair said police would be notified if the IMEI number was operational.
"Regardless if you swap SIMs or don't use a SIM at all and just use it as a Wi-Fi-only device in a Wi-Fi area, it will always broadcast that IME number onto the network," he said.
Victoria Police can also ascertain if someone else was using a device in the Mount Clear area on February 4, but Phair said he would not expect a "sophisticated criminal" to take their "own digital evidence" into a crime scene.
But he said it is "highly likely" that police have the data on potential predators and are tracking them.
Police announced that they suspect "one or more parties" were involved in Murphy's disappearance, saying it was "very doubtful" she was still alive.
Former Victorian detective Damian Marrett told Hayes he believes Murphy's disappearance is the result of foul play, stating that a change in her digital data suggests this was a "targeted attack".
View attachment 21578
