This month is again more busy, since everything is back from vacation. This month I will go to the ENFSI Forensic IT Working group meeting in Moscow www.enfsi.eu where I am chairman of. Forensic IT relates to cybercrime, and we see that most cybercrimes crosses borders, so a strong effort from the international community is necessary also to share information an solve the crimes.
Last week I gave a talk to students about cybercrime, and the awareness of students on cybercrime seems not to be high yet. Of course the government and companies can protect us from some of the issues related with cybercrime, however it is also good to have a higher awareness with the users, so cases can be solved more rapidly. There are many efforts also from law enforcements and courts to handle more casework, and often changes of laws are necessary also to cope with it internationally.
Of course we will continue with issues such as observer bias and context effects within forensic science (article Whitman and Koppl). In science it is advised do the cases double blind. In practice some courts will send the case with no additional information to compare, however as they also discuss that the simple fact that the samples are submitted causes a bias.
Last weeks some telephone meetings as member of the Board of the AAFS. Since there is time difference between the Netherlands and the US, it meant that I had to wake up at 2 am in the morning, which I am not used to. However the last meeting was at 11 pm, so that works better. Furthermore also giving some contribution on the Interpol review on image analysis.
Sunday, September 05, 2010
Sunday, August 01, 2010
August 2010
August is starting with more casework then usual, and also new cases that come in. It might be caused by a new law on experts in the Netherlands that delays the cases somewhat since all cases need a court order.
Also there is a new policy from Dutch government on blogging for their employees, however as far as I can see the posts that I do fit very well in this policy. The policy is limited to the common practice of blogging.
I have submitted a workshop and a paper for the AAFS before August 1st. Furthermore I am working on reviews for the IWCF International Workshop on Computational Forensics in Japan. Also some reviews for journals, which I have to finish soon.
I am also looking forward to the ENFSI Conference Forensic IT in Moscow , where we are working further on. I think there are many good contributions.
Currently we have some possibilities for students to do a project on Image Analysis and camera Identification. Mostly in R&D I work with students for development and implemenation of new algorithms and also validation projects.
Also there is a new policy from Dutch government on blogging for their employees, however as far as I can see the posts that I do fit very well in this policy. The policy is limited to the common practice of blogging.
I have submitted a workshop and a paper for the AAFS before August 1st. Furthermore I am working on reviews for the IWCF International Workshop on Computational Forensics in Japan. Also some reviews for journals, which I have to finish soon.
I am also looking forward to the ENFSI Conference Forensic IT in Moscow , where we are working further on. I think there are many good contributions.
Currently we have some possibilities for students to do a project on Image Analysis and camera Identification. Mostly in R&D I work with students for development and implemenation of new algorithms and also validation projects.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Guest article
When Forensic Science Overreaches
Without a doubt, forensic science has made and continues to make huge contributions to our society. Cases that could never have otherwise been cracked are solved by creative, scientific means. But what happens when forensic science overreaches; when experts make claims that can’t be really be upheld using the strict scientific method? Do innocent people sometimes go to jail simply because your average American citizen has seen too many episodes of CSI and now believes that any statement made by a forensic expert is infallible? The answer to this question is a resounding “yes”.
Forensics as a science.
Like any other scientific field, forensic science is founded on sound scientific principals. Methods of investigation are tested both in the laboratory and the field to determine their accuracy. Statements made in court should be balanced against the limitations of the technology itself and the methods employed to gather the evidence. Unfortunately, juries seem to occasionally have a problem differentiating between deductions made by the investigator and provable facts.
When deduction is confused with fact.
In an article entitled What’s Wrong With Forensic Science that appeared in Newsweek, an example is given of a man who was convicted of a crime he never committed due to the testimony of a forensic scientist who convinced the jury she had matched his designer jeans to evidence at the crime scene. This was in 1989 before the widespread use of DNA evidence. He was acquitted when law enforcement found that his DNA did not match the samples taken at the crime scene. Unfortunately, he wasn’t freed until 2008. The jury had failed to question the deductive process employed by the forensic investigator.
What jurors need to know.
It is paramount for potential jurists to realize that forensic scientists, as humans, can
make mistakes. They can interpret information in the wrong way. They can see connections that aren’t there. A footprint linked to shoes with a certain speck of mud on them should not a guilty verdict make.
Bio: Alexis Bonari is a freelance writer and blog junkie. She is currently a resident blogger at onlinedegrees.org, researching accredited online degree programs. In her spare time, she enjoys square-foot gardening, swimming, and avoiding her laptop.
Without a doubt, forensic science has made and continues to make huge contributions to our society. Cases that could never have otherwise been cracked are solved by creative, scientific means. But what happens when forensic science overreaches; when experts make claims that can’t be really be upheld using the strict scientific method? Do innocent people sometimes go to jail simply because your average American citizen has seen too many episodes of CSI and now believes that any statement made by a forensic expert is infallible? The answer to this question is a resounding “yes”.
Forensics as a science.
Like any other scientific field, forensic science is founded on sound scientific principals. Methods of investigation are tested both in the laboratory and the field to determine their accuracy. Statements made in court should be balanced against the limitations of the technology itself and the methods employed to gather the evidence. Unfortunately, juries seem to occasionally have a problem differentiating between deductions made by the investigator and provable facts.
When deduction is confused with fact.
In an article entitled What’s Wrong With Forensic Science that appeared in Newsweek, an example is given of a man who was convicted of a crime he never committed due to the testimony of a forensic scientist who convinced the jury she had matched his designer jeans to evidence at the crime scene. This was in 1989 before the widespread use of DNA evidence. He was acquitted when law enforcement found that his DNA did not match the samples taken at the crime scene. Unfortunately, he wasn’t freed until 2008. The jury had failed to question the deductive process employed by the forensic investigator.
What jurors need to know.
It is paramount for potential jurists to realize that forensic scientists, as humans, can
make mistakes. They can interpret information in the wrong way. They can see connections that aren’t there. A footprint linked to shoes with a certain speck of mud on them should not a guilty verdict make.
Bio: Alexis Bonari is a freelance writer and blog junkie. She is currently a resident blogger at onlinedegrees.org, researching accredited online degree programs. In her spare time, she enjoys square-foot gardening, swimming, and avoiding her laptop.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
July 2010
Last week I testified in a court case on images, and as usual people become confused with the things they see on CSI and the forensic examination of images and video. I often have to explain that sometimes the image processing which is shown at CSI is not realistic, since we have to cope with the limitation of the sensors, and they have a limited resolution. Often on CCTV it is difficult to do a proper forensic comparison of faces and other objects, and a limited conclusion can be drawn from it. However, there are exceptions.
It is getting summer now, and I do not have any backlog anymore in casework, so we can schedule better, however sometimes cases come in at unexpected moments, and it can change very soon. We are also working on new work for the camera identification, as well as forensic examinations of colours from objects. Before August 1st, I will also propose one or two papers, and perhaps a workshop for next years AAFS www.aafs.org meeting. Furthermore, we are currently working on the ENFSI Forensic IT Working group meeting in Moscow in September www.enfsi.org .
It is getting summer now, and I do not have any backlog anymore in casework, so we can schedule better, however sometimes cases come in at unexpected moments, and it can change very soon. We are also working on new work for the camera identification, as well as forensic examinations of colours from objects. Before August 1st, I will also propose one or two papers, and perhaps a workshop for next years AAFS www.aafs.org meeting. Furthermore, we are currently working on the ENFSI Forensic IT Working group meeting in Moscow in September www.enfsi.org .
Saturday, June 05, 2010
June 2010
Last month was busy with the World Conference on IT where the NFI also signed a MOU with Microsoft. I gave a presentation on the huge efforts that we have to do in reverse engineering of software and hardware for extracting information from devices from manufacturers. Some manufacturers will provide information on their file formats, however others do not know or will not give information, and then we have to spend lots of time on reverse engineering, which also could be spend on examining other products such as reverse engineering malware in forensic casework.
It was also busy with casework and of course the R&D projects. Currently I also have three students that are working on camera identification under the different circumstances. And of course we have many groups of students that are working on various programming tasks, such as our open source software defraser for video analysis and repair. Also there we further progress, as we have version which is much more interactive which will be released soon.
Next week we organize a tour and BBQ as well as a day on forensic video investigation for our customers (currently over 100 people have signed up), and then it gets summer, so somewhat more time to spend on writing reports, articles etc. During the WCIT I was also invited for the Techno Security 2010 in Myrtle Beach to give a presentation, however due to the huge amount of work, I was unable to be there, however I will give some contribution to the conference via Skype.
Friday, May 07, 2010
May 2010
Last month everything went well, and when I was in Moscow I was impressed with the organization of the meeting in September for ENFSI our working group on Forensic IT. This month we will also have the WCIT 2010 in Amsterdam, where I have received the opportunity to speak on Forensic Science and new developments within digital evidence and related areas.
As usual some casework, and currently due to economic situation, also within in forensic science, many labs have issues with budget cuts, since many labs are government owned, and currently many governments have to reduce costs. However as usual, this situation also give opportunities for new developments to have more efficiency and keeping the same, high quality. The last 20 years that I worked, I experienced several of these cuts, however it is not easy to predict what will happen, and each time there are different solutions.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Fwd: zonsondergang
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