Following remote assessments from the UK Accreditation Service in April this year, Arcanum Digital Forensics have been granted an extension to the scope of our UKAS ISO 17025 accreditation, to include mobile devices and Forensic Science Regulator’s (FSR) Codes of Practice and Conduct. This adds to our existing accreditation for capture and preservation of data from computers and a range of data storage devices.
The Regulator mandates compliance with ISO 17025 and the Codes for all digital forensics providers, and it is anticipated that this will shortly be backed by statutory powers. At present providers who do not comply are required to indicate this in their statements and reports which could lead to criticism of both the provider and prosecutors in court. Many law enforcement organisations in the UK will no longer outsource work to non-accredited providers because of this risk.
The Codes (now at version 5) build on the ISO standard in terms of ethical issues such as conflict of interest avoidance, cognitive bias and general integrity issues. They also specify levels of physical and cyber security and require robust business continuity, and detail the UK approach to validating forensic methods. Compliance is not straightforward and as a result of preparing for our assessment we have further improved many of our business and forensic processes.
We are now also accredited for capture and preservation of data, processing and analysis of data from mobile devices. This includes SIM cards and removable storage.
The laboratory plans to extend the current scope to data analysis from computer systems and potentially the recovery of digital evidence from scenes of crime (ISO 17020) in 2021.
Phill Hatton, the Arcanum Digital Forensics Technical Manager said:
“Achieving this extension to our accreditation has very much been a team effort with everyone being involved. Existing and potential customers can have a high level of assurance that our forensic work is performed competently and in accordance with established UK and international requirements, in particular those of the Criminal Justice System.”
For more information on Arcanum Digital Forensics and what we can do for you, including ISO 17025 and ISO 17020 consultancy, visit Arcanum Digital Forensics or call 01902 423601 today.
For details see the full accreditation schedule.