Cascade Forensics helps to tackle crimes against children in the US
Andrew Sheldon, one of the UK’s leading experts on the application and use of digital forensics is scheduled to make a presentation at the 29th annual Crimes Against Children Conference, taking place in the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Dallas from 7-10 August.
During his presentation, Andrew, the founder and Chief Technical Officer of digital forensics specialist Evidence Talks, will provide an insight into the latest advances that are taking the practice of forensic triage on to a new level. Drawing attention to new techniques from imaging to conducting full forensic analysis, Andrew will focus on how his company is working to enhance the speed and execution of investigations.
Forming the backdrop of his presentation will be Cascade Forensics, a fully scalable, client-server architecture recently launched by Evidence Talks. Combining the company’s SPEKTOR triage and Rapid Imaging technology with the ability to drive and control third party forensic tools using policy driven workflows, Cascade Forensics offers a faster and smarter way of moving from digital triage to full forensic analysis via automated forensic workflows.
As an example, Andrew will look at the benefits that the system is bringing to the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP), for whom the Cascade Forensics framework was originally developed in response to the Command’s requirement to automate intelligent forensic workflows so that multiple suspect media can be examined simultaneously using existing forensics tools.
“Every time a human touches the evidence, it takes time and costs money. Now, where there’s a need to cope with burst demand relating to major incidents or national tasking and to bring high priority investigations to a rapid conclusion, investigating officers have the edge they need to provide rapid effective response to all forms of cyber crime.” says Sheldon.
A key differentiator of this product agnostic system, and one of the reasons why it was recently highlighted by the Office for Security and Counter Terrorism (OSCT) as a ‘game-changer’, is that it easily integrates and controls existing third party forensic tools such as Axiom, IEF and Xways etc. Optimising and automating the whole process, Cascade Forensics eliminates any delays brought about by relying on the user’s timing and choice of multiple tools to use, building in cost reductions and accelerating the delivery of forensic processing results.
The system delivers its efficiencies by automating the use of multiple tools and minimising the number of processing steps between seizure and review based on pre-defined workflows. It also eliminates unnecessary imaging, reducing storage costs and automating the delivery of preliminary results for review within a standardized framework. Its introduction to the US market at the upcoming Crimes Against Children Conference sees this ‘game-changing’ system preparing to make its mark on an international stage.
