Digital Forensics: Following the Trail of Breadcrumbs

Posted: January 6th, 2017

By Jim Kent

Jim Kent is the Global Business Head of Nuix Security & Intelligence. As a global industry leader in information security, incident response, eDiscovery and digital forensics, Kent has more than 20 years of experience as a senior digital forensics investigator, information security consultant, high-technology crime detective, and high-level advisor to law enforcement, government, financial, and commercial organizations. He joined Nuix in 2012. Kent is an advisor to the ITU, the United Nations cybersecurity body, and an experienced expert witness who has made case law in the High Courts of Justice. He is co-author of a government best practice guide for digital investigation and has developed a curriculum of training for an MSc program in computer security and forensics. Kent holds a Doctorate (Hons) in Science from the University of Bedfordshire as well as professional certifications in digital forensics and cybersecurity.

Much like with traditional crimes, cybercrimes leave a trail of breadcrumbs that, if assembled correctly, can create a reliable understanding of what occurred and can even lead investigators to the perpetrators. With cybercrime expected to cost society some $2 trillion by 2019, the field of digital forensic investigations will be vital in creating criminal deterrence and mitigating risk for all kinds of organizations. The Cipher Brief sat down with Jim Kent, the Head of Security & Intelligence at Nuix, to discuss the process of digital forensics and how the field is anticipated to change over the next few years.

The Cipher Brief: What is digital forensics, and what is it used for?

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