Toby Marriott, Author at ADF Solutions

ADF Solutions Announces Digital Forensics Training Sessions in the UK

Toby Marriott — Thu, 10 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000

[Cheltenham, UK] – ADF Solutions, a leading provider of digital forensic software, is pleased to announce its upcoming training sessions on computer and mobile forensics in the United Kingdom.

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The highly anticipated training sessions will take place on October 17th and 18th for Digital Evidence Investigator (DEI) training on computer forensics.

Join the training from October 17th through 19th for Digital Evidence Investigator PRO (DEI PRO) training on mobile and computer forensics, which is an excellent opportunity for current and prospective users to enhance their expertise in the field.

The training sessions will be conducted at a state-of-the-art facility in Cheltenham, designed to provide participants with a conducive learning environment. To ensure personalized attention and effective learning, each session will accommodate a maximum of 15 participants. Therefore, interested individuals are encouraged to sign up promptly to secure their spot before the seats fill up.

In addition to the DEI and DEI PRO training, participants will have the option to expand their expertise further with the Mobile Device Investigator (MDI) training, also scheduled for October 19, 2023. This additional training will focus exclusively on mobile forensics, providing attendees with comprehensive knowledge and hands-on experience in this specialized area.

The rates are as follows:

DEI training is £1495
DEI PRO training is £1695
MDI training is £695

Interested individuals are urged to sign up promptly, as registrations will close on September 30th, 2023.

“Digital forensics training is vital for professionals working with digital evidence,” said Ailsa Slack, Director of Customer Success at ADF Solutions. “Our training sessions provide participants with the knowledge and practical skills required to conduct effective digital investigations. We encourage individuals to sign up early to take advantage of this valuable opportunity.”

To secure your spot, register now!

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The Current State of Affairs of the UK’s Forensic Backlog

Toby Marriott — Mon, 09 Jan 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The United Kingdom is facing a severe absence of forensic processing capacity, leading to a backlog of forensic work requested by law enforcement agencies across the country. Long delays in receiving results can have major implications for the criminal justice system and can leave vital evidence untested, resulting in convictions potentially being overturned or offenders going free. This blog article will discuss the issue of forensic backlogs in the U.K. and the steps that are being taken to reduce them, to the benefit of law enforcement agencies.

The U.K. has a long history of forensic science, dating back to the early 19th century when the first formal police force was established. Since then, the U.K. has been at the forefront of developments in the field [1] However, despite this history, the U.K. is currently facing a serious shortage of forensic processing capacity, leading to a backlog of work.

The causes of this backlog are numerous and complex but can be broadly divided into two main categories: a lack of resources and an increase in demand. In terms of resources, there has been a significant reduction in government funding for forensic science over recent years, leading to a decline in the number of laboratories and staff. This has been exacerbated by an increase in the complexity of cases, which require more time and resources to process.

The increase in demand which has left many pending cases has been driven by a number of factors.

The first is the overall increase in crime levels, which has put pressure on all parts of the criminal justice system, including forensic science and solving criminal investigations.

The second is the change in the nature of the crime, with a shift towards more serious offences such as sexual assault and murder. These cases often require more complex and time-consuming forensics, which can further strain resources.

The third factor is the change in police investigative methods, which now place greater reliance on forensic evidence. This is particularly true of cases where there are no eyewitnesses, making digital forensic analysis vital in securing a conviction.

The final factor is the change in public expectations, which have risen in recent years. The high-profile cases of the last few years, such as the murder of Stephen Lawrence, have shown that there is a demand for justice and for police to use every available tool to secure a conviction.

The U.K. government has acknowledged the problem of forensic backlogs and has taken steps to address it. In 2016, the Home Office released a Forensic Science Strategy, which set out a plan to improve the capacity and capability of the UK’s forensic science sector. This includes investing in new laboratories and recruiting new staff [2]

The United Kingdom’s forensic science sector across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland is facing significant challenges, but there are steps being taken to address them. By investing in new laboratories, new digital forensic technology, and staff, and by sharing best practices and resources, the U.K. can reduce the backlog of cases and ensure that vital digital evidence is processed in a timely manner through computer forensics and mobile forensics.

Learn more about Reducing Forensic Backlog

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Private Investigations: How ADF Can Aid Private Investigators

Toby Marriott — Wed, 16 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in May 2021 there were approximately 28,860 individuals employed as private investigators [1]. People or companies hire private investigators for a variety of case types that other professionals do not handle. Private investigators are often tasked with handling sensitive and emotionally-charged situations. Part of the responsibility in such cases is understanding how to retrieve data from devices and memory cards, which can provide evidence to help prove or disprove a client’s situation or theory.

Private investigation cases may include…

1. Fraud Investigations

Corporations may hire private investigators to look into fraud, loss of information and how it occurred, and the legitimacy of business partners.
Employees may engage in white-collar crimes including embezzlement in which they attain assets lawfully but do not use them for their intended purposes.
Employees may also share company information with competitors in exchange for better job offers or other high-value rewards. Private investigators can look deeper into the leaked information and assist corporations in upholding non-complete clauses they may have in place.

2. Infidelity Investigations

People will hire a private investigator to conduct surveillance and an investigation to determine if their partner is being unfaithful.
Often investigators will be asked to provide proof of infidelity and help their customers come to terms with the reality of their partner’s lies.

3. Family Law Investigations

Private Investigators may also be hired to gather evidence that can be used in civil trials such as divorce or child custody battles [2]—other cases they would be hired for include missing persons or adopted family members.
Parents involved in a divorce may attempt to uncover information that can be used in their favor during a custody battle. They may also seek hidden assets in situations in which parents owe spousal or child support. Spousal support can be terminated if private investigators uncover individuals living with a new romantic partner [2].

To properly conduct their investigations they may use special databases available to law enforcement. Other ways of obtaining information include checking social media for information on their subject. Investigators may also interview neighbors and colleagues. With the information, they gather they can provide reports, photographs, or videos, and may testify at court hearings with their observations [2].

How ADF Helps Private Investigations

Using ADF software private investigators can investigate mobile or computer devices. ADF’s Digital Evidence Investigator PRO allows the acquisition of all the evidence needed to prosecute a case successfully. DEI PRO is the all-in-one digital evidence forensics, triage, and media exploitation software built for speed, scalability, and ease of use for front-line investigators who need results. It’s an automated digital forensic tool for iOS, Android, Mac, Linux, and Windows.

DEI PRO collects digital evidence in cybercrime and presents it in a timeline view to tie the user to files and artifacts creating a digital evidence collection to help you solve your investigation. DEI PRO quickly processes and analyzes smartphones (iOS and Android), computers, external drives, drive images, and other media storage (USB flash drives, memory cards, etc.).

DEI PRO can enable private investigators to conduct rapid checks on target devices and obtain:

Call logs
Calendars
Contacts
Installed applications
Messages
Searched items
Book marks
Web History
Wireless networks
Audio files
Databases
Media
Documents

Having the necessary tools to conduct accurate and thorough investigations ensures private investigators meet their customer’s needs to obtain further recommendations and grow their clientele.

Watch: Intro to DEI PRO Webinar

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Why Do I Need Video Forensics Tools?

Toby Marriott — Wed, 19 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Video forensics tools help forensic analysts by providing a way to enhance and analyze video footage. These tools can improve the quality of video footage, make it easier to identify objects and people in the video, and determine the sequence of events.

They can also be used in recreating events, which can be helpful in understanding how a crime was committed. Video forensics begins with the recovery of video footage. A variety of devices such as smartphones, tablets, and computers can capture video and have the capacity to store these videos in different formats. Video forensics tools make it possible to retrieve video evidence for analysis from different devices. Video footage that has been thoroughly examined may then be submitted as evidence during a trial.

Video forensics can be used for a variety of cases and agencies can benefit significantly from implementing video forensic tools. Project VIC is a nonprofit organization founded by Rich Brown and former U.S. law enforcement officials who saw the need to normalize data between digital forensic tools, software vendors, and service providers in order to focus the community on building enhanced workflows to more rapidly identify victims of child exploitation (CSAM, CEM) and human trafficking.

Using VICS and CAID hashset data, law enforcement agents are empowered to more rapidly and effectively search for indecent videos or Images of Children (IOC), child exploitation material, and human trafficking signals and perform crime scene investigations starting on- scene.

Video classification can assist in speeding up this process, with artificial intelligence the software can recognize a multitude of visual classes. It can recognize and categorize these videos containing content such as child abuse, bestiality, pornography, people, and weapons. Users can choose the type of material they want to appear in their searches, essentially cutting down on the amount of time it takes to analyze all of the retrieved video evidence.

ADF’S software gives agencies the tools they need to master video forensics and provide the best investigative services to their community. ADF’s Digital Evidence Investigator PRO performs video classification to identify illicit content faster. The classifier works on all the collected pictures and videos coming from the file system, archives, databases, thumbnails, documents, emails, messages, downloads, and unallocated space.

Talk to an ADF Expert

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