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Inside F3: Building Community And Sharing Knowledge In Digital Forensics

Release Date: 10/20/2025

How Distressing Material Shapes Investigator Well-Being

Forensic Focus

Dr. Fazeelat Duran, Assistant Professor in Psychology at the University of Birmingham, joins the Forensic Focus Podcast to talk about the psychological impact of working with distressing material in law enforcement roles. Drawing on her recent longitudinal study — the first of its kind to follow newly recruited secondary investigators and analysts from day one through 18 months in role — Dr. Duran explains how repeated, indirect exposure to traumatic material shapes mental health over time. She walks through the trajectory her team observed at six, 12, and 18 months, the concept of "dosage...

DFIR In 2026 – AI ‘Button Pusher’ Forensics, Writing Courtroom Reports, Audio Breakthroughs And The Leica Geosystems Conference

Forensic Focus

Si and Desi discuss a range of digital forensics topics, from writing forensic reports that juries can actually understand, to whether AI is coming for "button pusher" DFIR jobs. They explore plain language standards, the classic confusion between forensic "images" and pictures, and Brett Shavers' provocative blog post on AI and job security — leading into a wider discussion about the distinction between technicians and analysts in digital forensics. Si shares highlights from the Leica Geosystems Conference, including fascinating audio forensics research by Henry Vega on deriving vehicle...

Policing's Well-Being Problem: Stigma, Isolation And The Retention Crisis

Forensic Focus

Dr Sarah-Jane Lennie, Associate Professor at the Centre of Excellence for Equity in Uniformed Public Services at Anglia Ruskin University, joins the Forensic Focus Podcast to talk about mental health and well-being in policing — and the often-overlooked toll on police families. Drawing on 17 years as a police officer before moving into academia, Dr Lennie shares the moment her own mental health forced a career-defining decision, and how that experience shaped her research into the culture of silencing, stigma, and emotional masking that still pervades policing today. She explains why the...

Rob Fried On New Challenges In Digital Forensics

Forensic Focus

Rob Fried, digital forensics consultant, author, and assistant professor at Hofstra University, joins the Forensic Focus Podcast to talk about the evolving challenges of forensic practice, AI in investigations, and his latest book. Rob discusses his annual publication cadence — now in its fourth edition — and how each year's content is shaped by real cases, collaborations, and emerging topics in the DFIR community. This year's edition tackles AI policy, data culling strategy, and the documentation practices that keep forensic work defensible in court. The conversation also covers the...

Preparing Investigators For Trauma Exposure In Digital Forensics

Forensic Focus

📝 Complete the Forensic Focus International Well-Being Study: https://www.forensicfocus.com/survey Bunmi Bloom, co-founder of Sena Forensics, joins the Forensic Focus Podcast to discuss the emotional reality of working in digital forensics and the psychological toll of long-term exposure to traumatic material. Drawing on her background with the Metropolitan Police and the Financial Conduct Authority, Bunmi reflects on how DFIR practitioners navigate disturbing images, case reports, and the pressure to “stay strong and get on with it.” The conversation explores coping mechanisms inside...

Covert Cyber Investigator Well-Being With Carol Brooks

Forensic Focus

📝 Take The Surveys An Exploratory Study of Covert Cyber Investigators and the Psychological Factors Impacting on Personal Resilience and Investigative Decision-Making Forensic Focus International Well-Being Study Carol Brooks, a cyber and organisational psychologist and leadership consultant, joins the Forensic Focus Podcast to discuss her PhD research into covert cyber investigators and the psychological factors that shape their resilience and investigative decision-making. She explains what it really means to work “covertly” online and why inconsistent job titles across law...

Forensic Focus International Well-Being Study - Have Your Say

Forensic Focus

Phil Anderson from Northumbria University joins the Forensic Focus Podcast to discuss the launch of the Forensic Focus International Well-Being Study — a global research project examining the psychological and physical impact of digital forensic work across both law enforcement and the private sector. Drawing on his 24-year academic career and long-standing collaboration with Northumbria Police, Phil explains how digital forensics units have evolved and why DFIs are facing unprecedented levels of stress, burnout, and workload pressure. Together with host Paul, he outlines the four core...

Si And Desi’s Holiday Special 2025

Forensic Focus

Si and Desi close out the year on the Forensic Focus Podcast with a wide-ranging end-of-2025 wrap-up, reflecting on how the year unfolded for the show and the DFIR community. They discuss the mental health series, guest appearances, and how everyday technologies — from streaming services to wearables — are increasingly intersecting with forensic investigations, even when people don’t realise it. The conversation then broadens to bigger technology shifts, including the rapid rise of AI and its legal, ethical, and societal implications. Si and Desi explore bias, misinformation, validation,...

Oxygen Forensics On Smarter, Faster Remote DFIR Collections

Forensic Focus

Keith Lockhart from Oxygen Forensics joins Si and Desi on the Forensic Focus Podcast to examine how remote digital evidence collection is changing investigative workflows across DFIR, eDiscovery, and corporate investigations. Drawing on recent XiB mobile training and real-world deployments, Keith explains where remote and agent-based acquisition delivers practical benefits—and where traditional hands-on methods remain essential. The discussion covers targeted versus full acquisitions, consent and governance in corporate environments, and the operational realities of collecting data across...

The Idaho Murders: From Behavioural Clues To AI’s Role In Digital Forensics

Forensic Focus

Heather and Jared Barnhart return to the Forensic Focus Podcast for a wide-ranging conversation covering Cellebrite’s growing Case-to-Closure Summit, behind-the-scenes insights from building one of the industry’s toughest CTFs, and their digital forensic work on one of the most high-profile US murder cases in recent years. They share why the C2C Summit focuses on practitioner-led talks rather than product pitches, what made the first event such a success, and what’s planned for the next gathering — including expanded training and a keynote from Terry Crews. The discussion also dives...

More Episodes

Gareth Davies, Chairman of F3 (First Forensic Forum), joins the Forensic Focus Podcast to explore how a grassroots, vendor-neutral community has helped shape digital forensics in the UK for three decades. He traces F3’s origins in the 1990s, when affordable training and tool-agnostic knowledge-sharing were scarce, and explains why the forum still focuses on byte-level, lab-ready techniques over sales pitches.

Looking ahead, Gareth previews F3’s 2025 conference in Warwickshire (Nov 18–20), the not-for-profit pricing model, and upcoming trainings on UAVs, software-defined radio, implants/biomed devices, smartwatch and vehicle forensics, and video authentication/deepfakes. He also discusses international growth (including interest in an Australian chapter) and an open call for volunteers to help run events and keep training affordable.

#DigitalForensics #DFIR #ForensicsTraining #IncidentResponse #VehicleForensics #CryberCrime #DigitalEvidence #DigitalInvestigtion #DigitalEvidence

👉 Visit Forensic Focus at https://www.forensicfocus.com

00:00 Introducing Gareth Davies

01:09 What is F3?

03:01 Gareth's Journey into Forensics

05:35 PhD and Research Work

06:54 Current Role and Responsibilities

09:08 Interesting Cases and Projects

12:27 Involvement with F3

14:41 F3's Global Reach and Community

20:03 Challenges and Future of F3

22:39 Personal Experiences and Networking