ICAC comprises 61 task forces representing over 5,400 federal, state, and local law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies. In 2020 more than 21.7 million reports of suspected child sexual exploitation were made to National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) CyberTipline [1]. There has been a rise in reports of online enticement to the CyberTipline. In the year 2020, the rate of online incidents increased by 95.7% compared to the previous year [1]. 

Online enticement occurs when an individual attempts contact with a child via the internet to commit a sexual offense or abduction. This often occurs across various platforms, including social media, messaging apps, gaming platforms, etc. Actions such as grooming for sexually explicit images or in-person meetings, sexual conversations, or selling child sexual abuse materials (CSAM) are common [1]. Children are lured into these different forms of child pornography and can often be exploited by predators for monetary gains. 

As human trafficking continues to invade online platforms government and law enforcement agencies find it necessary to apply digital forensics to their investigations. There are several advances that have been made in digital forensics that aid investigators in speeding up the process of human trafficking investigations.

Investigators have been able to leverage automated technology to speed their investigations. Automated digital forensic software gives users the ability to collect vast amounts of data in a shorter time frame. The data can also be sorted automatically according to tailored preferences. Investigators can focus their search based on their current case, generating actionable digital evidence. With digital forensic software, investigators can also obtain data from electronic devices. This can include images and videos, emails, contacts, messages, browser histories, and more. 

The ability for investigators to access a variety of information from mobile devices makes it harder for offenders involved in human trafficking to hide CSAM. Previewing abilities such as instant mobile preview allows investigators to quickly view content on devices and decide which ones contain important digital evidence to be further investigated. With previewing investigators can ensure they are focusing on mobile devices with relevant information. 

Improved features such as facial analytics detect infants, toddlers, children, and adults in images. Facial analytics speeds up investigations by sorting through large amounts of data from a mobile device and producing images that contain these child victims. Not only does it reduce the amount of time it takes an investigator to find all of these images in mass data but it also protects investigators from being repeatedly exposed to disturbing content. As technology continues to improve digital forensic software continues to be adapted and improved to remain useful in human trafficking investigations.

ADF has been supporting the ICAC community since 2004 and has attended numerous ICAC conferences. ADF’s Mobile Device Investigator leverages the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) to quickly and easily collect evidence from iOS and Android phones and tablets. It is designed to be operated by front-line police, sheriffs, field agents, and investigators. 

Users can connect a suspect device via a USB port to quickly collect evidence and perform a fast logical acquisition of up to 4GB of data per minute. Mobile forensic tools allow for smartphone triage and empower field agents to collect witness and suspect evidence on-scene. Human trafficking cases are time sensitive and require immediate action to help save victims. ADF’s software supports this goal with the right tools for the fight against CSAM and human trafficking.

Learn more about ADF’s Mobile Device Investigator.

Talk to an ADF Expert

The post ICAC Task Force: How Digital Forensics Uncover Human Trafficking appeared first on ADF Solutions.

Sexual abuse material may be produced, distributed, or possessed. Many abusers also partake in live streaming of sexual exploitation of children or the distribution of explicit images. 

In 2021, the US National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received approximately 85 million images, videos, and files that contained child sexual abuse and exploitation [1]. The COVID-19 pandemic led to an increase in people’s online activity. Abusers and offenders have a greater opportunity to benefit from child exploitation. 

John Tanagho’s article on OSEC states that 65% of child sexual abusers are family members or close friends of the victim, who are paid to sexually abuse children in person. These abusers are often looking for a quick way to make money. Sex offenders from around the world are willing to pay for OSEC material and it may be directed and viewed live [2]. 

Offenders from remote locations that pay for sexually explicit content via live-stream video platforms can participate by directing the actions of the OSEC trafficker and the children [3]. These live streams make it difficult for electronic service providers to detect child sexual exploitation material because they do not monitor the streams. Cases can continue to go unreported. 

Although OSEC occurs anywhere around the world, it is reported that the Philippines is at the center of this live stream abuse. The Philippines has had a threefold increase in OSEC cases since COVID-19 quarantine restrictions [4]. According to a study by the International Justice Mission Internet Protocol (IP) addresses used for child sexual exploitation increased from 43 out of every 10,000 in 2014 to 149 out of every 10,000 in 2017 [5]. 

Families have resorted to selling OSEC content to cope with the monetary hardship caused by the pandemic, but this cannot excuse the trauma and mental health issues it causes victims. Victims ranged from a year old to 31 years old, the average being 11 years of age and 86% of victims were female [1]. 

Many organizations have banded together to bring awareness to OSEC and help end the sexual assault and exploitation of children. One of these is International Justice Mission which has partaken in combating violence against children in the Philipines since 2001. Prevention of OSEC has also gone further with service providers implementing tactics to help stop OSEC customers before or during their involvement. An example is seen in Microsoft which initiates pop-up messages and uses PhotoDNA image-matching technology to identify abuse materials [3]. Early detection and reporting are key to helping forensic investigators and law enforcement officers rescue exploited children.

Learn more about ADF’s role in the fight against child exploitation.

Learn more about Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation Cases

The post What is OSEC? (Online Sexual Exploitation of Children) appeared first on ADF Solutions.

According to the US Sentencing Commission, an increase in access to digital and mobile technology caused a 422% spike in the number of CSAM production offenders sentenced over 15 years, from 98 offenders in the fiscal year 2005 to 512 in the fiscal year 2019 [2]. This number only continues to rise as offenders have quick and easy access to their victims and CSAM. Smartphone technology, advanced computer technology, and live streaming capabilities allow offenders to produce and perpetuate CSAM via remote locations away from their victims. 

The crimes committed against these CSAM victims include child sexual abuse imagery, online child exploitation and enticement, child sexual molestation, and child trafficking. Cyber Tipline of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) states that in 2021 they received 21.7 million reports of the crimes listed above [2]. Often child victims are involved in some form of a physical sexual offense. This abuse is usually committed by someone they know and believe they can trust. 

Offenders will use methods such as grooming to normalize the sexual abuse and encourage secrecy between themselves and the victim. The US Sentencing Commission reports that approximately 60% of offenders in the fiscal year 2019 held a position of trust over their child victim [3]. This can be family members, teachers, sports coaches, and anyone with connections to the child. 

Victims find themselves dealing with the effects of their sexual abuse even after they are out of their abuser’s reach. They are filled with guilt and shame because they were not able to stop the abuse. They struggle with intimacy and relationships due to post-traumatic stress and may be unable to engage in sexual activity or set boundaries. Victims may also abuse drugs and alcohol as a method to cope with their childhood abuse. CSAM victims face long-lasting emotional damage as the images and videos of their sexual abuse continue to be perpetuated online. Abuse survivors must continue to relive their trauma each time these videos and pictures resurface. 

How ADF can Help CSAM Cases

Digital forensic investigators can aid persecutors and attorneys in the process of collecting electronically stored information that can be used as an invaluable resource and assist attorneys in strengthening their cases. Attorneys can also employ digital forensics services to help determine the strength of potential litigation or gain insight into drafting a discovery request [4]. 

Today’s investigators respond to CyberTips and work quickly to determine if they need to confiscate devices, take a suspect into custody, and identify any victims. ADF works with Project VIC and CAID data to speed investigations from on-scene investigations to the forensic lab. ADF Solutions software helps speed CSAM investigations by allowing for automatic and manual tagging of images and videos. 

ADF software is also equipped with image classification which works on all the collected pictures and videos coming from the file system, archives, databases, thumbnails, documents, emails, messages, downloads, and unallocated space. Users can select the exact confidence value to show more pictures of the same class as time permits. 

With the use of ADF solutions digital forensic software prosecutors and attorneys can aid CSAM victims in seeking restitution and representing them in court. Obtaining the evidence needed to prosecute the abusers and locate CSAM helps prosecutors and attorneys empower their victims and end the cycle of their online abuse. 

Learn more about ADF Solutions and how CSAM cases are solved with DEI PRO. 

Talk to an ADF Expert

The post How ADF Can Assist With Prosecutors’ CSAM Cases appeared first on ADF Solutions.

CBP policies allow agents to conduct searches on individuals entering and exiting U.S. borders and ports of entry. CBP searches are essential to help detect evidence of terrorism and other national security matters and crimes. These searches not only allow for evidence to be detected but also allows border patrol agents at the southern border to determine a person’s intentions upon entry. Information contained in computers, tablets, removable media, disks, drives, tapes, mobile phones, cameras, music, and other media players, and any other communication, electronic, or digital devices are subject to inbound and outbound border searches [2].

Why is Border Security Important?

CBP agents secure the nation’s borders at more than 300 ports of entry. As of September 30, 2022, CBP enforcement statistics show a record number of 2.4 million encounters along the United States’ southern border. These growing numbers can make it increasingly hard for agents to conduct searches of seized devices promptly. 

Since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 CBP agents faced surges in fentanyl seizures as well as the number of individuals attempting entry at the borders. During the years 2020 and 2021, travel restrictions were implemented at the southern border leading people to transport drugs that could go undetected. The drug of choice for transport became fentanyl. The smuggling of these drugs was more common at ports of entry because individuals were less likely to be stopped. Often these drugs are transported by U.S. citizens as opposed to illegal individuals entering or exiting the border through uncommon routes [3]. 

Human trafficking is another common issue border patrol agents face when securing U.S. borders. People may be manipulated by fraud, force, or coercion to work under the control of another person, pay off a loan with work without a clear time period or official agreement, or perform a sex act for money or anything of value [4]. Human trafficking can be in the form of domestic servitude, labor in prison-like factories, and migrant agricultural work. According to a report conducted by the International Organization for Migration, almost all migrants attempting to gain entry into the U.S. employ the assistance of smugglers or traffickers [5]. 

Traffickers can work alone or work as part of an organized group and engage in other illegal activities such as fraud, extortion, racketeering, money laundering, bribery of public officials, drug use, document forgery, and gambling. These dangerous crimes are what drive homeland security and border patrol agents to continue the education and group effort to combat issues such as drug smuggling and human trafficking.

What ADF Does to Support Border Patrol Agents

The post Border Security Solutions: Keeping America Safe appeared first on ADF Solutions.

Photo forensics is a powerful tool that can be used in various ways. It can provide crucial evidence in different types of cases, from proving a person’s identity in a crime scene photo, and finding missing persons, to recreating the events of a crime. Digital image forensics can also refer to the profession dedicated to authenticating digital images to determine authenticity, or, it may refer to the capability of digital forensics software to find and identify photos. By understanding the role of photo forensics, we can ensure that our photos are properly analyzed and that the evidence is interpreted correctly. 

What can you do with photo forensics?

Photo forensics analysis software allows you to scan devices such as computers or mobile devices and obtain photo evidence for analysis. This software works by using key features to assist investigators in analyzing large amounts of photo evidence and filtering and categorizing them appropriately. This is accomplished with the help of image recognition, facial analytics, photoDNA, and screenshots. 

Facial analytics is a part of biometrics and is used in face detection, facial landmark localization, face attribute prediction, facial emotion recognition, and head pose estimation. It uses computer-generated filters to transform face images into numerical expressions that can be compared to determine their similarity. With facial analytics images that contain a person’s face can be pinpointed rapidly by investigators. This is especially important in cases where victims are involved such as child exploitation and human trafficking. 

Image recognition uses artificial intelligence to identify objects, places, people, writing, and actions in images [1]. Due to exponential growth in the volume of images investigators are challenged when searching for illicit online activity, Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), extremist propaganda, or other types of image content. Being able to filter through photos and target specified image types reduces the time investigators spend searching for evidence that can be used in a prosecution. 

In 2009, the Microsoft Digital Crimes Unit (DCU) partnered with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), Microsoft Research, and Dartmouth College to create PhotoDNA. PhotoDNA was a method to identify Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) and Child Exploitation Material (CEM). PhotoDNA creates a signature that will find the exact image and will also locate and identify images that are visually similar. With PhotoDNA copies of the images can still be reliably identified as well as the manipulated images, or those visually similar.

Screenshots allow investigators to take a screenshot of a connected iOS or Android mobile device making a copy of what is displayed on the device screen. This method makes it possible to collect digital evidence that would otherwise not be available in an advanced logical acquisition because the data is protected.

All of these features can be leveraged to make photo forensics analysis simple and rapid. Knowing the goal of a case can help you identify which feature to best use to your advantage. Photo forensics is a valuable tool that can be used to establish the facts of a case. As an investigator, the range of possibilities is vast, from reconstructing events to finding Child Sexual Abuse Material and Child Exploitation Material. Harnessing the power of photo forensics is an advantage in a society where technology is a major component of their everyday lives. 

ADF’S software gives agencies the tools they need to master photo forensics and provide the best investigative services to their community. ADF’s Digital Evidence Investigator PRO performs all of the tasks listed above including Photo Probability filtering to identify and score photos with a percentage probability score. This capability enables investigators to quickly filter out non-photographic graphic files such as icons or clip art.

Talk to an ADF Expert

The post Why You Need Photo Forensics appeared first on ADF Solutions.

Since tons of information contained in smartphones is buried in inaccessible portions of the operating system, relying on antiquated digital forensic strategies can lead to data loss.

So, how do you access these files intelligently without risking deletion or inaccurate reporting?

What is Forensic Triage for Smartphones?

Finding a way to gather data across mobile devices — which frequently vary in hardware components — without risking data contamination is a mission-critical aspect of data intelligence.

Forensic triage for smartphones (or mobile forensics) is the act of intelligently gathering data across mobile device providers to provide a top-down view of all of the crucial data contained in the device.

Of course, forensic triage can be applied to a wide variety of devices (e.g., computers, tablets, etc.) But, with over 70% of the entire world’s population carrying mobile devices, law enforcement is more likely to run into a cellular device as opposed to a PC. This means that forensic triage is only valuable if it’s capable of capturing data contained in these devices, as it’s likely that this data is significant to criminal, business, or military investigations.

6 Features a Forensic Triage Tool Should Have

While the obvious reason that forensic triage is valuable is data gathering, there are some aspects of forensic triage that separate valuable solutions from difficult, overburdening solutions.

1. It should be easy. Since forensic investigators often have a backlog and a significant pipeline of projects to handle, forensic triage tools should be simple-to-use. This helps free up time and gives the solution value beyond capability (e.g., speed reduces employee time and costs). Features such as mobile preview or screenshots with OCR allow investigators quickly preview a mobile device on scene
2. Modularity. Since mobile devices are so common, forensic triage tools need to be modularly accessible. This gives law enforcement rapid access and military personnel the ability to quickly spread solutions. For example, the MDI Field Tablet, allows field investigators to quickly and easily collect evidence from mobile devices for mobile phone forensic analysis on scene.
3. Ability to access multiple devices. With Android and Apple users at a standstill, being able to access both operating systems gives flexibility. If a solution can only address one or the other, you’re going to be left with a ton of devices that cannot be adequately analyzed.
4. Scalability. You need to be able to quickly scale operations to filter through terabytes of data if necessary.
5. Intelligent. Of course, it’s essential that any forensic triage tool that is accessing smartphones is intelligent enough to sift through files contained across the device — including the operating system — rapidly without missing out on crucial information.
6. Searchable. There are GB of data stored on mobile devices. You need to be able to search for relevant data without having to mine through unnecessary files. That is why our search profiles which let you focus your investigation come in handy.

Each of these solutions is geared towards specific needs. Want to know which one is right for you? Compare our mobile forensic products.

Talk to an ADF Expert

The post What is Forensic Triage for Smartphones? appeared first on ADF Solutions.