Excellence recognised at first digital intelligence and investigation awards
Pioneers of digital investigation helping tame the Wild West of online crime have been recognised at a national award ceremony.
Pioneers of digital investigation helping tame the Wild West of online crime have been recognised at a national award ceremony.
Senior figures from across law enforcement were present at the inaugural Digital Intelligence and Investigations awards on Wednesday (March 15) to reward officers for excellence and innovation.
The Digital Investigator of the Year award went to Jon Cornish, a digital media investigator at City of London Police, who worked with the National Crime Agency (NCA) to stop suspects moving vast amounts of money through the Netherlands into the UK.
Through Mr Cornishs analysis of 12 seized mobiles, officers were able to provide evidence of such high standard that defence barristers accepted it in court without cross-examination.
Presenting the award, Essex Police Chief Constable Stephen Kavanagh said: Despite an already heavy workload, Jon continually displayed a tenacity, passion and enthusiasm, going the extra mile to achieve a very tight deadline and working extensive hours.
Jons understanding of how to draw granular detail from mobile phone downloads enabled evidence to be provided, linking the phone directly with call data records.
He added: With what Jon has achieved, he has considerably contributed to a successful prosecution with suspects receiving substantial custodial sentences, thereby protecting the public from further harm and acting as a deterrent to other organised crime groups.
The Eastern Region Special Operations Unit (ERSOU) won the top prize for use of advanced digital forensics for its work on Operation Polarity.
This investigation saw officers bring to justice 19-year-old Adam Mudd, who personally carried out 594 cyber attacks against 181 IP addresses between December 2013 and March 2015.
Mudd also sold his own stressor tools online and adopted a crime-as-a-service model of offending, earning him $385,000 and resulting in the software being used in more than 1.7 million attacks worldwide.
He awaits sentencing on April 3 at Londons Old Bailey.
Another award went to Ruth OMalley, a Major Incident Analyst with Greater Manchester Police, whose expert analysis led to three men receiving life sentences for murder in an investigation with extremely limited physical evidence (see PP545).
The NCA also performed well, picking up seven nominations and winning three awards.
Two NCA officers won in the categories Intelligent use of Forensic Triage in a Complex Investigation and Use of Big Data Analysis in a Complex Investigation, and the Child Exploitation Online Protection Forensics Team won Recognised Contribution to Digital Ethics in Policing.
The other winners included:
Detective Constable Nick Rogers (Hampshire Constabulary) for advanced use of communications in an investigation;
Donna Andrew (Lincolnshire Police) for her contribution to developing the use of communication data;
Stephen Donohue (Cleveland Police) for advanced use of cloud data sources;
Tom Harley (Leicestershire Police) for use of open source intelligence;
Operation Purple Obsidian (Southern Wales Regional Organised Crime Unit) for international collaboration in a complex investigation; and
Detective Sergeant Rob Gravelle (Dyfed-Powys Police) for excellence in management of a digital investigation unit.
NCA Director General Lynne Owens said: I am exceptionally proud of the work which has gone into building our digital capability.
We are doing all we can to use these capabilities to protect the public, and it is very apparent that we are not only keeping pace with the latest developments in criminal behaviour, but innovating to stay one step ahead.
However, others called for police and industry stakeholders to do more to prevent online offending in the first place.
Durham Constabulary Chief Constable Mike Barton said: I would like us to collectively make the internet safe rather than just feeling a little bit like the Wild West that it is now.
Thats why Im so proud, and quite rightly, that were honour