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ADF prioritizes digital evidence collection and provides investigators and examiners post-scan options to speed investigations. Post scan options let digital forensic investigators get fast and relevant evidence to make decisions on-scene and in the forensic lab.

Front line investigators and digital forensic examiners are encountering an ever increasing number of images in almost every investigation they perform. This exponential growth in the volume of images can challenge investigators searching for illicit online activity, Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), extremist propaganda, or other types of image content. 

In this short video, ADF digital forensic specialist, Rich Frawley, demonstrates ADF's digital forensic image recognition and classification capabilities. 

A criminal forensic lab located in one of the largest U.S. Federal agencies was working on an extensive child exploitation case and had seized 37 total hard drives that contained over 38 terabytes of data. The case was high profile and the forensic team had a short window of time to examine the contents of the confiscated drives. Technical resources were limited and imaging drives and conducting traditional forensic examinations would be very time consuming. With the amount of data that needed to be searched, the investigators realized that it could potentially be weeks before the examinations were complete and the case could move forward. In addition the case would require significant disk storage space to hold all of the images.

The investigation began when law enforcement officials received a report that images that were consistent with child pornography had been uploaded to a social media platform. The images were immediately flagged, and investigators swiftly obtained a search warrant to gain access to the suspect's residence. Once inside the residence, members of the State Police Computer Crime Unit conducted an on-scene forensic examination of all electronic media, including computers, phones, and other electronic devices. This examination was conducted with the utmost care and attention to detail to ensure that all potential evidence was discovered and preserved. The examination proved to be invaluable, as it revealed a trove of images and videos of sexual abuse of an under age child, leading investigators to identify a resident of the household as the suspect. Through their tireless efforts, these investigators were able to bring a dangerous criminal to justice and protect innocent children from further harm.  

Using ADF Digital Evidence Investigator^®, investigators discovered images and videos of sexual abuse of an under age child and were able to identify a resident of the household as the suspect. Specifically, investigators located thumbcache images that resulted in identifying a female child that was being sexually abused and identified the suspect.