Held virtually once again in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Digital Forensics Research Workshop Virtual Europe (DFRWS-EU) embodied its vision of cultivating an inclusive, transdisciplinary approach in both program and activities by featuring 10 of the 29 research paper … Read more
Christa Miller
Lessons Learned In Digital Forensics Standardization: United Kingdom
Should digital forensics be standardized? Can it be standardized successfully? These questions have been hotly debated for a number of years, perhaps never more so than in recent years as digital forensics has become increasingly important in both criminal and … Read more
Forensic Focus Legal Update April 2021: Balancing Privacy And Investigation
Privacy is a major theme in this quarter’s legal update, which covers the latest developments with the European Union’s ePrivacy Initiative, some new laws in the United States, recent court decisions, and law enforcement access to third-party data. We also … Read more
What’s Happening At Techno Security Myrtle Beach: June 6th-9th, 2021
In 2020, as workplaces and schools worldwide shut down to help control the spread of the novel coronavirus COVID-19, many professional conferences followed suit. Some promoted professional development via webinars; others kept a three- to five-day format, but went entirely … Read more
Research Roundup: New Digital Forensic Insights And Opportunities
February’s research in digital forensics isn’t just about the papers presented at the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS)’ annual meeting, or those published in the various journals. Last month also saw new research opportunities, either for an impact study … Read more
Industry Roundup: Mobile Field Triage Solutions
The ability to collect digital evidence in the field — away from a forensic laboratory — has long been a need in corporate, private, and law enforcement investigations.
That’s only accelerated over the past decade, as more people’s mobile devices … Read more
Digital Forensics Research Looks To The Future
January was a somewhat light month in the way of digital forensics research publication, though the introduction of an Asia-Pacific (APAC) installment of the Digital Forensics Research Workshop (DFRWS) conference more than made up for it. This month we feature … Read more
A Comprehensive Walkthrough Of Counter UAV Analysis
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or drones, are as fraught as they are fascinating. For every hobbyist flying a drone around the neighborhood on a sunny weekend, there is a neighbor concerned with whether a system’s onboard camera is spying on … Read more
Cooperation Between Academia And Law Enforcement: Challenges And Opportunities
Digital forensics research often depends on casework: specific problems with a device, operating system, app, or artifact that a forensic examiner needs to solve.
That isn’t always the case, though. Sometimes the problem has a broader scope, or the examiner … Read more
A Springboard To Digital Forensics Research In 2021
The end of 2020 could not come fast enough for most of us, and yet, as the year wound down, some things — such as the digital forensics research recapped in this article — were worth slowing down for. This … Read more
Are You Looking To Get #DFIRfit In 2021?
Few digital forensics practitioners would dispute that their job is largely sedentary: there’s a lot of sitting, be it in labs, vehicles (including aircraft), meeting rooms, and conference lecture rooms, among others.
That only became more true in 2020, when … Read more
Digital Forensics Standards Update: Calls For Training And Public Comment
As 2020 drew to a close, demand for digital forensics and investigations had perhaps never been higher. The COVID-19 pandemic continued to accelerate many forms of digital crime, particularly crimes against children and various types of fraud.
At the … Read more
What’s New In Open Source Digital Forensics: OSDFCon 2020 Recap
The Open Source Digital Forensics Conference (OSDFCon) kicked off its second decade virtually and, thanks to sponsorships, free of charge. Usually hosted each October in Washington, D.C., OSDFCon this year drew 12,000 people from around the globe: a massive increase … Read more
Forensic Focus Legal Update December 2020: Refining Search & Seizure; New Laws & Guidance
The fourth quarter of 2020 has seen some significant legal developments when it comes to digital evidence. In this issue (which also happens to be the anniversary of the inaugural Forensic Focus Legal Update), we highlight:
- Search warrant reform
Community In Collaboration: The Scientific Working Group On Digital Evidence
In September, Forensic Focus was invited to sit in on a meeting of the Scientific Working Group on Digital Evidence (SWGDE). The third and final meeting of 2020 was held virtually — just as the previous meeting, in June, had … Read more
Research Roundup: Finding New Cultural And Technical Opportunities
One of the most interesting and important things about digital forensics research is the way legal, cultural, and operational landscapes in different countries inform and even drive the research. In other words, digital technology doesn’t exist in a vacuum, even … Read more