When it comes to accessing digital data across devices, mobile phones are easily the most common devices that law enforcement, businesses, and military personnel will deal with. In the past, accessing critical files (e.g., law enforcement cases, business intelligence, etc.) involved physically unlocking and searching through devices. The problem, of course, is that accessing smartphones by physically entering the device can lead to data loss, file access issues, and an incomplete view of the device's digital archive.

Grayshift has announced that ADF Solutions is a Certified member of Grayshift's Technology Alliances Program, a digital forensics ecosystem that facilitates open, multi-vendor integration and certifications to improve the effectiveness of digital investigations tools. The program ensures that partner tools: 

• Fully and accurately parse GrayKey extractions
• Improve cross-product workflows
• Explore integrations aimed at accelerating investigations

The partnership between ADF Solutions and GrayShift is designed to give law enforcement agencies confidence that they can expect accuracy in ingesting and displaying data from GrayKey extractions to speed investigations. 

Even though Digital Forensics has expanded its capabilities and use-cases since its inception, it is constantly evolving and you need to be prepared for the changes coming. New features on computers and smartphones are causing existing digital forensics features to be outdated and unreliable when investigating. New crimes are being committed and the tools in existence are not capable of collecting and processing that sort of evidence yet. But not to worry, there are many companies out there researching tools to handle investigations in critical areas of development. Here are 5 key areas you want to make sure your team has the most up-to-date technology and the most experienced training.

Digital forensic investigations can be expensive. The price can range from $2000 to well over $100,000 for forensic tools and training [1].

The most common reasons why digital forensics tends to get expensive are: 

• inexperienced/untrained users
• outdated systems
• challenges with acquiring systems
• systems that don't talk to one another
• timing in the collection or reviewing of evidence
• reporting

When investigating computer crimes and being called on to conduct computer forensics or forensic phone analysis in the field, it is good to be ready for whatever comes your way. One phrase you commonly hear when talking to anyone in the cybercrime arena is “there has to be more than one tool in the toolbox”, and this is a very true statement, no one tool does it all, and all tools do it slightly differently. You do not use a large Phillips screwdriver to remove a small screw from a picture frame and you do not use an eyeglass screwdriver to remove a wood screw, this is because you know your tools and your toolbox.

With any of the ADF Mobile products, if you are using the default settings, the mobile backups are being saved to the local drive. The mobile backups can be quite large and quickly fill up your drive leaving you no storage space.

Let’s take a look at how to archive your mobile backups with or without the corresponding scan results.

Industry Events: Network, Learn, Grow

Here's a list of the best 2022 digital forensics conferences around the world designed to help promote training and skills needed to collect and analyze digital evidence from computers and mobile devices.  

Note: The COVID-19 Pandemic is causing some digital forensic conferences to be moved online to virtual events. Other events are getting postponed or canceled. Please check with the individual conference organizer to verify dates and locations. 

Check out our law top law enforcement webinars.

With an ever-increasing number of adults owning a smartphone, it is no wonder that more and more crimes now commonly require mobile device evidence collection and analysis. The need for digital forensics tools is increasing around the world. The ultimate field forensics for the front line solution for police, sheriffs, school resource officers, field agents, and investigators. Connect a suspect device via a USB port to quickly collect evidence and perform an advanced logical acquisition (multi-protocol data transfer).

The 2021 Northwest Regional Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Conference has returned this year. The conference is a multi-state, multi-disciplinary Internet Crimes Against Children event which provides training to prosecutors, digital forensic examiners, sheriffs, police investigators and ICAC Task Force members.  

Dates: October 6-8, 2021

Location: Redmond, WA

In this 3-minute "How To" video, you'll learn the benefits of having a digital forensic triage process that works from field to lab. Using ADF digital forensic tools, examiners can prepare field investigators to find digital evidence and intelligence on mobile phones, tablets, computers, and storage devices starting on-scene. 

The Massachusetts Attorney General's Office (AGO) has announced the dates for the NCCC  2021 National Cyber Crime Conference (MASS.gov).

Smartphone Triage is becoming more and more important with the exponential increase in the number of devices and explosion of digital data. Mobile device forensic examiners can use smartphone triage as a first step in early case assessment of incoming devices. 

Do you need to acquire digital evidence from an iPhone, Android or tablet device quickly? 

As an investigator you want to be prepared to quickly collect evidence on-scene. This means, when performing smartphone forensics, you need to have the best tools to capture the evidence you encounter during your triage, including cloud storage such as Dropbox for iOS. 

At ADF, we are mission driven. We are delighted to serve those who serve and some of our most exciting times are when we are adding new features and capabilities, when we learn how they are being used, and of course, on launch days. We hope you'll love what we've created.

ADF launches New Law Enforcement Capabilities to Speed Modern Slavery Investigations  

Bethesda, Maryland: ADF Solutions’ new Anti-Human Trafficking Search Profiles were built in conjunction with the Anti-Human Trafficking Intelligence Initiative (ATII) to help law enforcement quickly identify and investigate human trafficking at the scene of the crime. 

Kik, also known as Kik Messenger, runs on Android, iOs and Windows operating systems and is a free app used by more than 200 million people worldwide to send and receive messages that can include photos and videos as well as other content. Kik is popular with children as young as 13 as well as young adults. Because of its popularity with children, the Kik app has become a magnet for child exploitation. 

In this short digital forensic How To video, Digital Forensic Specialist, Rich Frawley, walks you through the best settings for Mobile Device Investigator^®.  Learn how to choose the best Search Profile Capture selection and how to decipher which captures will get you the information you need for your investigation with our mobile phone forensic software. 

Why take Digital Forensic Screenshots?

Taking a screenshot of a connected iOS or Android mobile device consists in 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 a advanced logical acquisition because the data is protected.

Industry Events: Network, Learn, Grow

Here's a list of the best 2021 digital forensic conferences around the world designed to help promote training and skills needed to collect and analyze digital evidence from computers and mobile devices.  

Note: The COVID-19 Pandemic is causing some digital forensic conferences to be moved online to virtual events. Other events are getting postponed or cancelled. Please check with the individual conference organizer to verify dates and locations. 

The Best Digital Forensic Conferences of the Year - with COVID-19 Pandemic Updates

Below is a list of some of our favorite annual conferences which are in addition to our list of 2020 Law Enforcement Conferences in North America.  

Note: The COVID-19 Pandemic is causing some digital forensic conferences to be moved online to virtual events. Other events are getting postponed or cancelled. Please check with the individual conference organizer to verify dates and locations. 

The ADF digital forensic screenshots feature enables frontline investigators to capture screenshots from any connected iOS or Android mobile device. This feature is useful for investigators who need to capture data that may not be included in a backup or to capture how a particular mobile app or screen appears to the user.

The Massachusetts Attorney General's Office (AGO) has announced the dates for the NCCC  2020 National Cyber Crime Conference (MASS.gov).

Mobile Device Investigator (MDI) is the leading digital forensic triage tool for iOS and Android devices. In this short "How To" video, ADF's digital forensic specialist and trainer, Rich Frawley, will show you how to create a Search Profile with MDI. 

The 2020 Northwest Regional ICAC Conference, has been announced for October 5-9, 2020. The conference is a multi-state, multi-disciplinary Internet Crimes Against Children event which provides training to prosecutors, digital forensic examiners, sheriffs, police investigators and ICAC Task Force members.  

October 2019 kicks off with the 5th Annual Northwest Regional ICAC Conference, a multi-state, multi-disciplinary event designed to provide lecture and lab training to prosecutors, digital forensic lab examiners, and law enforcement investigators focused on the investigation and prosecution of technology and Internet facilitated crimes against children. 

Digital Evidence Investigator is built for front-line field investigators and lab examiners who need to do digital forensic investigations on Mac, Linux, or Windows. Combined with Mobile Device Investigator, Digital Evidence Investigator PRO gives you all the best computer forensic capabilities along with iOS and Android mobile forensics in a single affordable forensic tool. 

In this short video ADF's Digital Forensic Specialist, Rich Frawley, demonstrates the installation process for DEI and DEI PRO, on an offline computer that does not have Internet access. You can refer to our Technical Specifications for minimum requirements and supported Operating Systems.

Digital Evidence Investigator is built for front-line field investigators and lab examiners who need to do digital forensic investigations on Mac, Linux, or Windows. Combined with Mobile Device Investigator, Digital Evidence Investigator PRO gives you all the best computer forensic capabilities along with iOS and Android mobile forensics in a single affordable forensic tool. 

In this short video ADF's Digital Forensic Specialist, Rich Frawley, demonstrates the installation process for DEI and DEI PRO, on a computer that has Internet access. You can refer to our Technical Specifications for minimum requirements and supported Operating Systems.

Fast investigations require rapid access to evidence. ADF software enables investigators to quickly view the links of artifacts captured from a target device so you can easily understand a user's activities. 

Digital Evidence Investigator PRO enables front-line field investigators to quickly create an iOS forensic backup of an iOS mobile device on-scene or back in the lab. In this short video, ADF Digital Forensic Training Manager, Rich Frawley, will show you how to easily backup an iOS device with DEI PRO.

Learn how to create a forensic backup of an Android smartphone or tablet with Mobile Device Investigator™ in this short How To video from ADF's Digital Forensic Specialist, Rich Frawley.

Learn how to create a forensic backup of an iOS smartphone or tablet with Mobile Device Investigator™ in this short How To video from ADF's Digital Forensic Specialist, Rich Frawley.

Learn how to quickly scan iOS devices, smartphones or tablets, in this 2 minute short "How To" video created by Rich Frawley, our Director of Digital Forensic Training. Rich will walk you through how to attach and scan an iOS device with Mobile Device Investigator® (MDI) using an iPhone.

This week, nearly 1,000 law enforcement professionals from across the United States and around the world are meeting in Jacksonville, Florida for to discuss and discover new technologies designed to promote public safety, police safety and policing techniques. 

Most children in the United States now have access to internet services. The internet enables children to have access to vast amounts of valuable and educative information that facilitates their growth. However, the internet further exposes children to numerous dangers. Some of the risks children are exposed to on the internet include pornography, racist, sexist, violent, and demeaning information.

These risks prompted the formation of the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force program. The organization is a national network of 61 coordinated task forces that represent over 4,500 local, state, and federal law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies. The state and regional ICAC task forces are maintained and expanded by the ICAC program to address technology-facilitated child exploitation crimes.

As you get started performing an advanced logical forensic acquisition of an Android device with Mobile Device Investigator^®, you will want to learn how to attach an Android device to your forensic computer. This short video will show you how you can quickly and easily collect digital evidence from Android mobile phones and tablets. 

Mobile Device Investigator® is a stand-alone digital forensic software tool for advanced logical iOS and Android mobile device investigations. With Mobile Device Investigator® also called MDI, front-line investigators can: 

23 Industry Events: Network, Learn, Grow

The knowledge and training you can gain at digital forensic conferences around the world can make the difference in crime solving.  In addition to networking, annual conferences are one of the best ways to learn from peers, stay on top of the latest strategies and tactics, get an advance look at industry trends, and they can be a great place to talk face-to-face with digital forensic vendors. In addition to keynotes and lectures, many annual conferences also offer hands-on lab sessions or pre-conference training classes. Below is a list of some of our favorite annual conferences which are in addition to our list of 2020 Law Enforcement Conferences in North America.  

ADF Solutions Newest Software Release Makes It Easier to Fight Against Child Exploitation

As the leading provider of automated forensic software for investigators and lab examiners, we are delighted to announce the ability for on-scene and lab investigators to rapidly collect media files using Digital Evidence Investigator^Ⓡ, Triage-Investigator^Ⓡ, and Triage-G2^Ⓡ software and export media files to the Griffeye Analyze platform. 

This October kicks off with the fourth annual Northwest Regional ICAC Conference, a multi-state, multi-disciplinary event designed to provide lecture and lab training to prosecutors, digital forensic examiners, and law enforcement investigators focused on the investigation and prosecution of technology facilitated crimes against children.