Magnet Forensics, a developer of digital investigation software used globally, is proud to announce its collaboration with London’s Metropolitan Police Service (the Met) and Microsoft Azure to transform how the Met investigate crimes with relevant digital evidence from smartphones and computers with the adoption of Magnet REVIEW.
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“Developed in concert with the Met, Magnet REVIEW enables investigators to remotely review critical digital evidence in their cases, leverage analytical tools to get to it faster, and collaborate with digital forensics labs and other stakeholders.”
“The Met is committed to being a leader in the digital transformation of policing. Our collaboration with Magnet Forensics and Microsoft aims to ensure that digital evidence critical to investigations is reviewed in a simple, timely, effective and secure manner to ensure justice is achieved,” said Darren Scates, the Met’s Chief Technology Officer. “Our digital forensic evidence review process is undergoing a paradigm shift with the introduction of Magnet REVIEW.”
The rapid proliferation of digital devices and data relevant to investigations has put pressure on police agencies worldwide, creating backlogs in digital forensics labs, delaying cases and putting justice at risk. The highly technical nature of traditional digital forensics tools limits collaboration between digital forensic examiners and non-technical investigators, who have the full context of cases.
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Magnet REVIEW is a cloud-based, collaborative and secure digital forensic review platform for non-technical investigators that allows them to access and examine digital forensic evidence such as photos, chat logs and documents through an easy-to-use interface through a web browser.
“Time is lost in physically transporting devices, waiting for digital forensics specialists to become available to conduct an examination and for them to communicate the findings to the officer responsible for the investigation. This has led to significant backlogs that ultimately compromise the pursuit of justice.” said Magnet Forensics chief executive officer Adam Belsher. “Developed in concert with the Met, Magnet REVIEW enables investigators to remotely review critical digital evidence in their cases, leverage analytical tools to get to it faster, and collaborate with digital forensics labs and other stakeholders.”
Users of Magnet REVIEW will be able to leverage analytics tools, powered by Microsoft Azure to identify and report on critical evidence in a timely manner. The platform also allows investigators to collaborate with technical personnel in the digital forensic lab and other units remotely, while maintaining the forensic integrity of the evidence.
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“We’re proud to be working with Magnet Forensics to help the Met realize its digital policing vision,” said Kirk Arthur, Microsoft’s managing director of worldwide public safety and justice. “Deploying Magnet REVIEW in Microsoft Azure is enabling the Met’s investigators to remotely review digital forensic evidence and further facilitate cross-department and cross-jurisdiction collaboration in a secure and trusted environment.”
Magnet REVIEW will ultimately replace a dated but standard operating procedure common to many police agencies around the world: Forensic specialists conduct their examination and export the outputs on to USB drives or CD-ROMs, often left insecure, that non-technical investigators can only view after travelling to the digital forensics lab and waiting for a workstation to become available. The outputs of various digital forensics tools are different, technical in nature and often require further assistance from an examiner. These inefficiencies result in delays in investigations and prosecutions.
With Magnet REVIEW, delivered through Azure, the Met expects to:
- Complete data analysis and investigations up to three times faster, allowing non-technical investigators to take on more cases.
- Build trust by returning devices to victims and witnesses at a quicker rate.
- Significantly reduce cost and inefficiencies such as external media to store evidence and reduce the risk of data corruption and breaches.
- Benefit from the increased security, remote accessibility and infrastructure maintenance savings that deployment in the cloud will provide.
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