Berla iVe 5.0 - What Does It Mean For The VSF Community

Berla iVe 5.0 Update

Last week, Berla announced the release of iVe 5.0, alongside new hardware, marking the latest development in its vehicle forensics platform. This is a significant update for the Vehicle Systems Forensics (VSF) community, and I'll share my thoughts on what it means later in this blog and a subsequent one. But first, I want to take you back to where it all started for me. I think my own experiences with Berla and iVe over the past decade provide some useful context for understanding the significance of this latest release.

Where it all began

It was about ten years ago that I walked into the office where I worked at West Yorkshire Police and spotted a leaflet on the table. I'm still not sure how it got there, but its contents intrigued me. It advertised a tool capable of accessing data stored within vehicle infotainment and telematics systems. That tool was Berla iVe.

I can still visualise the green leaf digital pattern on the leaflet. It's a logo that seems to have disappeared as the company has evolved, but one that still comes to mind whenever somebody mentions 'iVe' or 'Ivey', depending on which part of the world you're from.

At the time, I was working my notice, having decided to leave the police to establish Harper Shaw Investigation Consultants a few months later. I'd spent the previous seven years investigating complex crime, particularly road deaths, on a daily basis. Before that, I'd spent five years in roads policing, undertaking both reactive and proactive work. Needless to say, I'd been involved in many serious and complex investigations involving vehicles.

Vehicle data was still relatively new to many of us at the time. Tools and services such as Bosch CDR, Crash Cube, third-party telematics systems and assistance from vehicle manufacturers were already providing investigative opportunities. However, infotainment systems were becoming increasingly common in vehicles, and I could see the potential of Berla iVe. Having spent years seeking investigative opportunities from mobile phones and, subsequently, smartphones, I believed that accessing data from vehicle systems could add considerable value to our investigations.

Taking the plunge

Not long after establishing Harper Shaw Investigation Consultants, we purchased the Bosch CDR tool and began making enquiries about Berla iVe. It was a significant investment for a start-up business, particularly when relatively few people understood the investigative opportunities the technology presented.

At the time, we were collaborating with a Manchester-based company called 3EF, run by Zak Johnson. I'd pitched the idea of investing in Berla to Zak. Anyone who knew him will remember that he was always looking for new techniques and systems to acquire data. If he needed a particular reader to get a job done, he'd buy it. We were very much on the same wavelength when it came to doing whatever was necessary to get the job done.

Zak agreed to invest, and the kit arrived. I asked him if he wanted to undertake the training, but he declined. I thought this was rather odd at the time. Zak was switched on when it came to the requirements of presenting evidence in court, including the importance of training and qualifications. However, he brushed it off, saying he didn't need the training, and encouraged me to attend instead. That became our arrangement. Zak purchased the equipment, and I undertook the training.

Sadly, it wasn't long before the reason for Zak's decision became apparent. He was in the early stages of motor neurone disease, and consequently, the business he had built eventually had to come to an end.

The early adopters

I completed my Berla iVe training in May 2017, delivered by Ben LeMere and Don Brister. I met a good number of people during that week, some of whom I'm still in contact with today. It was an enjoyable week, and looking back, I think we were among the early adopters of the technology in the UK. There was a relatively small community of us, and we kept in touch, shared experiences and helped each other out. I returned home with my Berla iVe training manual. Version 1.14, to be precise.

Working alongside Rish Aukburally and Amanda Fisher at 3EF, we began undertaking casework for police forces using the Berla equipment. Having spent much of my policing career investigating cases involving fatalities, I had considerable experience of giving evidence in Crown Courts and Coroners' Courts. I knew that if we were going to rely on this vehicle data as evidence, we needed to understand what we were looking at, establish how reliable it was and, importantly, identify its limitations.

So I started hiring cars. I'd drive them, undertake various activities and then download the data to see what had been recorded. I attempted to validate numerous data points across different systems. It quickly became difficult to manage and involved a considerable amount of work, but I felt it was necessary. Gradually, I began to understand some of the limitations of the data recovered from certain vehicle systems.

I subsequently wrote a paper outlining my initial findings, which was published in Impact, the journal of the Institute of Traffic Accident Investigators.

I should also mention Will Bortles, who had already undertaken testing of his own. However, I wanted to conduct my own research on another system, establish the findings for myself and have material I could refer to in my own casework.

I suspect that, if truth be told, I was quietly becoming a thorn in the side of Berla's support team. I was constantly asking questions. Why does it do this? What happens if we do that? What if this particular scenario occurs? But I'm a tenacious investigator at heart. I find it difficult to leave questions unanswered, and I know many of my peers working in this field are exactly the same.

When Berla was the only option

It's worth remembering what the situation was like at the time, particularly when considering the significance of this latest release. For many of us, Berla iVe was effectively the only practical option for recovering and decoding data from vehicle infotainment and telematics systems. There weren't alternative commercial tools readily available to us that could acquire data from these systems and decode it into something we could interpret. Of course, there were advanced practitioners who possessed the skills to undertake this work independently, but I certainly wasn't one of them at the time. Many of my peers in the UK faced similar challenges.

One question was frequently asked: "What do we do if Berla doesn't support it?"

Berla was ahead of the game in this field. It took us another two or three years as a company to begin understanding some of the methods required to recover and interpret data from unsupported vehicle systems. Even then, our results were patchy, and to some extent, they still can be today. Decoding proprietary file systems can be a long drawn out task.

Vehicle systems present challenges that differ considerably from those encountered in other areas of digital forensics. The automotive industry is a mass market, producing an enormous number of vehicles, models and variants. Each can contain different components, proprietary file systems and different methods of storing data. And that situation hasn't changed. New vehicle models arrive, new manufacturers enter the market, and existing manufacturers continually introduce new systems and technologies. It's a relentless stream of factory production lines delivering another metal wrapper full of components and systems that forensic practitioners may never have encountered before.

The research and development required to establish how to acquire data from these systems is considerable. Then comes the challenge of understanding and decoding that data before presenting it through a usable interface within forensic software. It's no easy task.

Bringing us back to iVe 5.0

Berla deserves recognition for the role it has played in developing the field of vehicle systems forensics and the solutions it provides to the agencies and practitioners who rely on its technology. Over the years, the company has continued developing its platform, introducing new acquisition methods, hardware and software capabilities. From iVe Mobile to the DLC adapter, each development has provided further opportunities for practitioners working with vehicle data.

Now, iVe 5.0 arrives with a substantial number of updates that appear to offer further benefits to the vehicle systems forensics community. So, what has actually changed, and what does it mean for those of us working in this field? Let's take a look at some of the new features. Hold tight. This could take a while.

iVe 5.0 – What's Changed?

Increased vehicle and system coverage

Increased vehicle and system coverage

The first thing to note is that iVe 5.0 brings support for an additional 38,500 vehicles, alongside a substantial increase in acquisition profiles and the instructional resources needed to access these systems. The release quotes an additional 388 infotainment and telematics systems, which is no mean feat when you consider the work involved in developing this level of support.

One of the complaints I regularly hear within the vehicle systems forensics community is that Berla's coverage can be limited when it comes to the European market. With this latest increase, perhaps that perception will begin to change. To what extent the additional vehicles and systems will address those gaps remains to be seen. From my own perspective, I've yet to examine the new databases in detail.

However, there's something worth considering when we talk about vehicle coverage, and that's our own bias. As investigators, we tend to judge a tool by the vehicles we encounter in our investigations rather than the entire range of vehicles on the market that a global vendor such as Berla has to support. If you receive ten enquiries for vehicles that aren't supported, you'll naturally form the opinion that the tool doesn't support many of the vehicles you're dealing with. And you'd be right, from your own experience. But that doesn't necessarily mean the tool has poor coverage overall.

Law enforcement agencies have no control over which vehicles become the subject of an investigation. Tomorrow, you might receive a vehicle that's two days old. Next week, it could be something that's 22 years old, with just about everything in between. It's simply impossible for any vendor to cover every eventuality.

There's potentially some subconscious bias at play here, too. We may be more inclined to remember the occasions when a tool couldn't support a particular vehicle than the numerous occasions when it did. Regardless of how we perceive coverage, the increase announced with iVe 5.0 is substantial. It should provide additional opportunities for practitioners, particularly those who have previously encountered unsupported systems. The new acquisition capabilities may also offer further options for investigators who possess the relevant skills and equipment to acquire data directly from vehicle electronic control units (ECUs) and check the software to see if it can deal with it.

Software improvements and instructional resources

One area that I think deserves particular attention is the improvement to the software and its instructional resources. Berla has provided detailed instructional material within iVe since the early days. Some of its procedures contain upwards of 50 individual steps, guiding practitioners through the process of accessing complex infotainment systems. The fact that Berla has revisited and improved nearly 1,000 instructional resources as part of this release shouldn't be overlooked.

For UK practitioners, particularly those working towards compliance with forensic quality standards, these resources have considerable value. As a company, we're currently working towards ISO standards ourselves. I cannot overstate the value of having detailed acquisition instructions available within the software, particularly when you consider the time and resources required for a small business to develop and maintain its own procedures. Of course, these instructions don't remove the need for organisations to validate their methods, assess their suitability or meet their own quality management requirements. However, they provide a substantial foundation on which to build.

One question I regularly consider when developing our own procedures is this: In the absence of the original practitioner, could somebody else follow the documented method and achieve the same result? With the level of detail Berla provides in its instructional resources, I believe that should be achievable for a suitably trained practitioner. For me, this is an important development, and credit should go to the Berla team for the work involved.

A redesigned acquisition workflow

The improvements extend beyond the instructional resources and into the software and acquisition process itself. In one of its release announcements, Berla reports that the software has been rebuilt from the ground up. That's an important point. Rather than simply adding further vehicle support to an existing platform, Berla appears to have taken the opportunity to consider feedback from its users, reflect on what it has learnt over the years and revise the way practitioners interact with the software. I suspect this has required a considerable investment in both time and development resources.

I've yet to get hands-on experience with the new software, but from what I've seen so far, the changes appear to align more closely with the way vehicle systems forensics is being undertaken in 2026. The software now offers greater control over the acquisition process, including the ability to select what is acquired and undertake acquisitions in stages where appropriate. Acquisition validation also forms part of the workflow. These changes should provide practitioners with greater flexibility when examining vehicle systems, particularly when dealing with complex acquisitions or investigations where only certain data is required.

File system access and reparsing

Another development that interests me is the improved access to acquired file systems. Where a supported system is recognised, iVe 5.0 can present the file and folder structure, allowing investigators to examine data that may not have been parsed automatically by the software.

This isn't an entirely new concept for iVe. Previous versions offered the ability to explore file systems, but from my own experience, this could sometimes be difficult to work with in the user interface. Depending on the acquisition, there were also occasions when the available file system was limited, restricting what could be examined independently. The improvements to the user interface appear to make this process more accessible, particularly for those of us who like to get into the finer details of an acquisition rather than relying entirely on the parsed output.

Another feature I particularly welcome is the ability to reparse an existing acquisition without having to acquire the data again. I've encountered this situation many times. Investigations can take months, sometimes years, to reach court. During that period, forensic software continues to develop, and improvements to parsing may reveal additional information from data that was acquired some time earlier.

Here's a quick practitioner tip: always consider revisiting your original acquisition before attending court, particularly if a considerable amount of time has passed since the initial examination. You may find that a newer version of the software identifies data that wasn't previously available in the parsed output.

Being able to undertake that process without requiring access to the original exhibit is a practical improvement. Speaking from the perspective of a small business, we frequently want to return exhibits to the instructing agency as soon as our examination is complete. Where appropriate, this allows vehicles to be released rather than retained unnecessarily. Separating parsing from the original acquisition workflow means that we can revisit previously acquired data without having to arrange another examination. It also reduces the need to reopen sealed exhibits or repeat acquisitions simply to take advantage of improvements in the software. Of course, any additional findings would still need to be assessed and validated, particularly if they were to be relied upon as evidence. Nevertheless, I see this as a welcome development.

The new hardware deployment system

The hardware deployment system has also received an update. This is an interesting one because, in my opinion, it's a difficult problem for any manufacturer to solve. We're still using the original range bag and foil bags for our Device Interface Boards (DIBs), which we received when we first invested in Berla nearly nine years ago. I've watched Berla introduce hard cases and other hardware storage solutions over the years. However, upgrading wasn't particularly worthwhile for us at the time. Much of our examination work takes place in our laboratory, and we rarely need to jump on a plane to undertake an acquisition. On the occasions when we do conduct examinations on-site, I generally take the equipment required for that particular job. Unfortunately, that approach occasionally involves forgetting something!

The consolidation of the hardware kit introduced with iVe 5.0 is something we are going to invest in. After nine years, it seems a reasonable opportunity to bring our equipment into line with the current hardware. Our original range bag has served us well. No doubt it will remain somewhere in the laboratory as a reminder of our own history in vehicle systems forensics.

Developing a hardware storage and deployment system that satisfies everybody is difficult. Practitioners have different working environments, equipment requirements and personal preferences. Some will inevitably prefer their own arrangements, particularly those who have developed their systems over many years. However, from the practical experience of operating a small laboratory, I can certainly see the value in having a dedicated solution for storing, protecting and transporting equipment. Small components and cables can easily become misplaced or damaged, and having everything organised in one place makes sense. There are also the manufacturing and logistical challenges involved in producing these kits, something that's easily overlooked when we consider the finished product.

The probe station

One of the hardware developments that particularly interests me is the introduction of the probe station. This brings another acquisition method into the Berla ecosystem. We've been working with In-System Programming (ISP), including Direct eMMC acquisition techniques, for several years and regularly teach these methods as part of our training programmes. Over that time, we've used and demonstrated various approaches. When teaching students, we've always explained that there are different equipment options depending on experience, budget and the type of examination being undertaken. At one end of the scale, you can undertake certain acquisitions using probes and Blu Tack, provided you've got plenty of patience! At the other end, there are established commercial solutions, including equipment from PCBite and VR-Table.

What Berla appears to have done with the introduction of its probe station is bring a dedicated hardware solution into its own ecosystem, supported by instructional guidance and software assistance. For those unfamiliar with this type of equipment, the principle involves making electrical connections directly to points on a circuit board to communicate with the memory device without physically removing the chip. It's important to recognise that this technique isn't suitable for every memory device or every vehicle system. However, a considerable number of infotainment and telematics control units contain memory technology that may allow this approach.

From my perspective, there are two potential benefits for iVe users. First, it provides another opportunity to acquire data from supported ECUs containing compatible memory devices in a non destructive manner. Second, and perhaps equally important, it provides structured instructional guidance explaining how to undertake those acquisitions. Having spent several years teaching these techniques without the benefit of dedicated, system-specific instructions, I know how much practice and troubleshooting can be involved in establishing reliable connections and completing an acquisition.

Only last week, we received a telephone call from another laboratory that was struggling to establish a connection to read a memory chip. Sometimes, we resort to soldering connections simply to achieve a reliable connection that will remain stable throughout the acquisition. That's particularly important when dealing with larger memory devices. Acquiring data from a 128 GB memory device can take considerable time, and the last thing you want is to lose your connection partway through the process.

Berla has taken on a substantial task by introducing this type of solution to a global market. I suspect opinions will differ depending on practitioners' backgrounds and existing experience. Those who regularly undertake ISP and Direct eMMC acquisitions using established equipment may prefer to continue working with the methods and tools they already know. And that's perfectly understandable. However, for practitioners who haven't previously undertaken this type of work, the probe station potentially offers a more structured introduction to these acquisition techniques. We also need to remember that not everybody using Berla will have experience with VR-Table, PCBite or other equipment commonly found in specialist electronics laboratories. And some of the younger practitioners probably won't even have heard of Blu Tack!

For me, the advantage of having a dedicated solution within the Berla iVe ecosystem is the combination of hardware, software and detailed acquisition instructions. It brings these elements together in a way that should make the process more accessible to practitioners who have the necessary training and technical understanding. Again, I return to that question about repeatability. In the absence of the original practitioner, could another suitably trained examiner follow the documented procedure and achieve the same result? Given the level of detail Berla has historically provided in its instructional material, I suspect this will be one of the strengths of its new probe station notwithstanding the sometimes variable nature of this type of work where a connection may simply still require trouble shooting.

Final Thoughts

For me, iVe 5.0 represents a significant investment by Berla and a welcome development for the vehicle systems forensics community. The increased vehicle coverage is one thing, but what interests me most is the work that has gone into improving the software, acquisition workflows, instructional resources and hardware. Having worked with iVe for almost ten years, I appreciate the challenges involved in developing these solutions, particularly when the automotive industry continues to introduce new systems at such a pace.

I'm particularly interested in the probe station and how Berla has incorporated techniques that some of us have been using independently for years into a more structured acquisition process. We've already taken the decision to upgrade our equipment to the latest hardware. After nine years with our original kit, we feel the developments in this release justify the investment.

I've yet to get my hands on iVe 5.0, and I'm looking forward to seeing how these developments perform in our laboratory. I'm sure there will be things we like, things we'd do differently and, knowing me, plenty of questions for the Berla support team!

Credit where it's due. Berla has clearly put considerable work into this release, and I look forward to seeing what opportunities it brings to our own laboratory and the wider vehicle systems forensics community. As for our original range bag, it's finally heading for retirement. Although I suspect we'll keep it as a reminder of where it all started.

I will be back in a few weeks with a second part to this blog when I have had chance to get my hands on the software and new hardware.