June 15, 2021
On June 15, 2021, the CONNEXIONs project participated to the CERIS Fighting Crime & Terrorism (FCT) workshop on 'Digital Forensics'. During the event, insightful discussions took place on issues related to Digital Forensics, starting from the intelligence gathering and investigation phases, to the secure storage and preservation of evidence (ensure the prevention of criminal attacks and high security threats). Additional important aspects were also discussed, such as best practices when developing tools of LEAs interest. Finally, legal aspects were also discussed, as for instance the ownership of the tools developed by various bodies (such as research institutions and companies).
In addition to the general discussions, three parallel sessions were also organised (namely Mobile forensics, computer forensics and encryption; Network forensics and linking different pieces of digital evidence; and Maintaining chain of custody) where participants had the opportunity to discuss specific aspects that govern digital forensics. Finally, a virtual poster session was held, where several ongoing FCT projects (CONNEXIONs, ANITA, GRACE, MAGNETO, ROXANNE, CYCLOPES, EXFILES, 4NSEEK, FORMOBILE, INSPECTr, LOCARD) had the opportunity to present their outcomes, as well as to discuss about potential similarities and/or differences among them.
The CONNEXIONs project actively participated to this event both with a stand in the virtual poster session, as well as by contributing to the interesting discussions that took place during the parallel sessions. Overall, very fruitful discussions took place, through the exchange of experiences and the ways in which each project contributes to the various phases of digital forensics. Finally, the participation of the CONNEXIONs project to this event paved the way for new collaborations that can further contribute to the field of Digital Forensics, allowing therefore the development of methods and tools that will further enhance the day-to-day LEAs work.