Magnet Forensics Deepens Relationship with U.S. Secret Service

Following on from an initial procurement last September, the United States Department of Homeland Security has requested a re-up, in the form of a notice of intent to procure, of 200 Internet Evidence Finder (IEF) USB dongles, along with support services, from Waterloo’s Magnet Forensics.

Since 2011, Magnet Forensics has been specializing in recovering internet related data from computers, work that increasingly comes from cloud-based services. Ex-Waterloo Regional Police Service officer Jad Saliba found himself at a life crossroads in 2007 with a diagnosis of Hodgkin’s lymphoma which effectively removed him from active duty. He ended up developing the digital evidence forensics software that would become IEF with ex-RIM executive Adam Belsher.

Magnet Forensics has been steadily updating its IEF software to keep abreast of developments such as the rise of Bitcoin and the relative difficulty of cracking the anonymity of apparently backdoor or covert transactions that take place in the “dark web”.

The procurement announcement follows immediately after an announcement from the United States Defense Cyber Crime Institute, which has just validated IEF v6.2, the second most recent iteration of the software. The DCCI validation follows a rigorous evaluation using 42 different criteria designed to test the product under circumstances that computer crime investigators might employ in uncovering digital evidence.

With the most recent purchase announcement from the Department of Homeland Security, Magnet Forensics continues to deepen its relationship with international cyber-law enforcement agencies.

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