Consortium of Digital Forensics Specialists

The Consortium of Digital Forensics Specialists launched today. I’m one of the members of the board for this organization and I hope everyone will strongly consider joining and participating. This effort is an attempt to unite the various individuals and organizations in the community to advance the profession. One of the particular concerns that is mentioned in the press release is the issue of licensing and how it impacts digital forensics professionals. If this effort fails, it could be quite some time before the digital forensics profession has another window of opportunity to organize like this and it could very well come too late to ward off some bad public policy in regards to what we do.

I also want to point out that while the members of the board have done a considerable amount of work in getting CDFS up and running, none of this would be possible if it wasn’t for the herculean efforts of Chris Kelly. Chris has done a magnificent job getting everything organized and keeping the effort moving forward. It’s very difficult to create an organization like this and without his efforts, I don’t think it would have happened.

You also follow the Twitter account for CDFS here.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Consortium of Digital Forensic Specialists Is Launched; Will Focus on Standards and Advocacy

Wakefield, Mass. – Aug. 4, 2011 – The Consortium of Digital Forensic Specialists (CDFS), a global non-profit industry group that aims to improve the digital forensic profession through unity, advocacy and standardization, announced today that it is now accepting membership applications from interested organizations and individuals.

CDFS plans to develop and influence standards for the practice of digital forensics; review and endorse digital forensic training and certification programs; and promote and develop an enforceable ethical framework for digital forensic practitioners. The group also plans to advocate against improper licensing standards. Development of a comprehensive ethical standard for the digital forensic profession will be among its first work products.

“In a time of growing scrutiny of the digital forensic profession, and of forensic sciences in general, practitioners need to unite to develop accepted practice and ethics standards across all sectors of the industry,” said Chris Kelly, CDFS President. “Our members will work cooperatively to address these issues and shape the future of our profession.”
Digital forensics is an emerging science and a diverse profession. Corporations, lawyers, courts, law enforcement, the military and intelligence communities, academia, training organizations, software developers, hardware developers, and private practitioners have contributed to the substantial growth of the field.

“The importance of CDFS is that it will finally create one voice for the digital forensic profession,” said Toby Finnie, a CDFS Board member and Director of the High Tech Crime Consortium, an 1,800-member non-profit association that is a CDFS sponsor. “Standards are fundamentally important to the continued maturity of the profession, and CDFS will become the place where those standards take shape.”

Membership in CDFS is open to both organizations and individuals. Sponsorship opportunities also exist for individuals or organizations seeking additional CDFS benefits. Additional membership information may be found at: http://www.cdfs.org/membership.php.

About CDFS

The Consortium of Digital Forensic Specialists (CDFS) is a non-profit organization serving the global digital forensic profession and community through a focus on standards and advocacy. Membership in CDFS is open to interested individuals and organizations working in the digital forensic profession. More information about CDFS can be found via its website, www.cdfs.org.

Contact
Greg Kohn Virtual, Inc. +1 781-876-6275 gkohn@virtualmgmt.com
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