Investigating Digital Crime and Computer Misuse

Our forensic experts will help you recover lost data, investigate breaches and support your disciplinary or legal activities producing readily usable, clear, meaningful and legally acceptable reports.
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Phill Hatton, who heads up the team, has been involved in the investigation of computer-related crime since 1991 when he worked as a Trading Standards Officer. From 1999 to 2003 he set up and ran the Wolverhampton Council Trading Standards Forensic Computing Facility and in 2004 he set up his own forensic computing consultancy. In January 2017 this became part of the Arcanum Group. The merger with Arcanum will ensure Clients can benefit from the same support, the same high quality at competitive rates that Phill Hatton and his team have provided over the years. Arcanum Digital Forensics is now ISO 17025 accredited by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service.

He attended some of the earlier digital forensics courses run at Shrivenham in 2000/2001 and has an MSc in Cyberspace Operations from Cranfield University/UK Defence Academy. He is a Chartered Trading Standards Practitioner and a member of the British Computer Society.

Phill has also been an Army Reservist since 1984 initially in Air Defence but since 2002 in a role similar to his civilian occupation.

He is actively involved as a Digital Forensics Practitioner in examining digital media such as computers, mobile devices and CCTV systems and, as laboratory Technical Manager, in reviewing the work of other staff and in developing and implementing technical and quality management procedures and policies.

ukas2017

Arcanum Digital Forensics is ISO 17025 Accredited

For details see the full accreditation schedule

Case Studies

CCTV Evidence counterfeit tobacco case

A local authority in the UK wanted to prosecute a seller of counterfeit tobacco. Arcanum was engaged to carry out CCTV footage extraction, using a stringent process to support the investigation. The CCTV evidence produced proved crucial to facilitate a successful prosecution.

Find out more about how Arcanum can help you with CCTV Evidence

Call centre fraud
Business in South Wales made sales calls all over the UK claiming to be Sky TV or mobile telephone service providers renewing insurance policies. The team recovered data, including deleted call recordings, and were also able to identify the location from which the company’s IT consultant accessed and attempted to delete data from servers during the early stages of the warrant. Eight defendants were sentenced to a total of 23 years imprisonment.
Bogus escort agency
Spanish based business recruited UK nationals to an escort agency for which a registration fee was required. No work ever emerged. The team supported a number of warrant executions on behalf of a local authority in South East England and examined computers recovered from UK based components of the fraud including telecoms providers, money launderers and payment service providers. The operator of the fraud was sentenced to seven and a half years imprisonment with others involved sentenced to between two and six and a half years.
Cow identity theft
Dairy farmer in the South West defrauded DEFRA of Bovine TB compensation payments by switching the identity of cows. The team supported a search warrant at the farm and recovered key information from computer systems. The farmer was fined over £60,000.
Sea Bass
North East England based business supplied fish described as Sea Bass to a major chain and forged an email purporting to be from a regulator approving this description of a species not normally considered as Sea Bass. The team were able to show that the email was a forgery even though the original had been deleted. A director received a six months prison sentence and the company was fined £50,000.
Postal crime facilitator
Central England based business facilitated the operation of bogus lotteries and special offers. The team recovered data from network storage devices and seized computer equipment. The director was sentenced to three years imprisonment and the local authority involved received over £500,000 as a Proceeds of Crime award.
Fake goods
London based business imported a variety of counterfeit products they had made to order in China. Team recovered key data and emails. Directors sentenced to 15 months and 9 months imprisonment and company fined £52,500.
Corporate employee investigations
The team has supported internal investigations into computer misuse, property theft and subsequent re-sale, IP theft, fraud, use of corporate resources to run private businesses, harassment, malware incidents, inappropriate use of social media etc.
Motor vehicle fraud
West Midlands based car sales business sold vehicles which were incorrectly described in various ways. The team were able to show that various documents had been forged on the computers seized.  Four defendants were sentenced to a total of eleven years and eight months.

Our Tools

To ensure continued success within each and every one of our Digital forensic investigations we regularly upgrade our technology infrastructure and forensic software platforms.

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Our team of expert analysts can examine computers, servers, mobile telephones, tablets, sat-navs, CCTV systems and legacy storage systems such as floppy discs and digital media of almost every kind.

We are experienced in supporting investigations into fraud, consumer focused crime, workplace accidents, employee computer misuse, computer and network compromise and more. The team can also identify and capture online evidence from websites and social networking. Our forensic department is expert in recovering evidence, processing and analyzing the data whilst ensuring that evidence extracted is preserved in its original format to be admissible in a court of law.

ISO 17025 Accreditation

Arcanum Digital Forensics achieved our UKAS ISO 17025 Accreditation in August 2018

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Testimonials

Happy customers.

TRADING STANDARDS
London Borough of Tower Hamlets

“LB Tower Hamlets Trading Standards have used Phil Hatton’s services on a number of occasions for phones, tablets and hard drives.  We have received professional encrypted reports and Phil has always been happy to provide follow up support.

May 2017

TRADING STANDARDS
Bristol

“We have worked with Phill Hatton and his team for a number of years on various projects involving mobile devices and computers. We have always found the company to be very helpful, thorough, competitive and efficient in any work we contract them to do. Their reports on their findings are always comprehensive and detailed, and they strive to explain how the equipment has been used in connection with the offences under investigation rather than merely providing a disc full of extracted files.
We would recommend Arcanum Digital Forensics to other Trading Standards and Organisations requiring Digital Forensic expertise.”

May 2017

TRADING STANDARDS
Swansea

“The City & County of Swansea Trading Standards Service have used Phill Hatton for digital forensic services for over ten years. During that time the business has undertaken forensic examination services in respect mobile telephones and fixed and portable computers. They have attended on site as required.

Expert witness evidence of a high standard has assisted us to secure convictions in a range of Trading Standards cases including illegal call centre operators, suppliers of counterfeit goods and in respect of the supply of unsafe products ranging from motor vehicles to domestic portable appliances and toys.”

July 2017

Contact Us

Whatever your Digital Forensics problems or requirements, Arcanum Digital Forensics can help. We are centrally located and have Clients across the UK. To speak with one of our Digital Forensic experts please contact:

t: 01902 423601

e: digitalforensics@arcanumis.com

Get started today and make your business secure.

Get in touch.