Session One - 09:30 - 10:30

• Introduction & Housekeeping - Detective Chief Inspector Claire Harvey, III Capability Manager, NPCC Internet Intelligence and Investigations Portfolio
• Welcome and Opening Address - T/Assistant Commissioner Rachel Williams, Met Police, NPCC Lead for Internet Intelligence and Investigations
• Walking the Cyber Beat - DS Gareth Wilkinson, Merseyside Police 

The importance of knowing your online community. How Merseyside Police’s approach to our online community enabled dynamic changes to searching and scanning within the backdrop of disorder.

• Digital Media Investigation Unit and HMPPS Investigations into viral & impactful content on social media- Matt Turrall, Deputy Head of Digital Media Investigation Unit, HMPPS 

The presentation will cover the work of the Digital Media Investigation Unit who are responsible for the provision of digital tactics within HMPPS which includes conducting Internet Intelligence and Investigations. The presentation will talk through examples of viral content online, its impacts on HMPPS and the learning obtained through conducting such work ​​​​​​.

• Panel Q&A

 

Session Two - 11:30 - 12:30 

• UK Riots: Identifying Calls to Action and Violent Protest Activity - Joseph Miller, UK Policing Lead and Paul Cawley, Tradecraft Lead EMEA, Fivecast

In the aftermath of the tragic mass-stabbing attack in Southport on July 29, 2024, the United Kingdom has grappled with a surge of violent protests. These protests were fuelled by misinformation spread online about the suspect’s identity and background by far-right groups and activists. The situation escalated into a broader wave of riots across the country.

Join Fivecast as they explore how Fivecast Tradecraft advisers leveraged advanced open-source intelligence (OSINT) capabilities using Fivecast ONYX, a leading OSINT platform to monitor popular far-right slogans circulating on social media. Their goal? To identify and track violent calls to action, ensuring timely insights so investigators can take action and mitigate the risk posed to the community.

• Panel Q&A

 

Session Three - 13:30 - 14:30

• The Use of Social Media as an Enabler for Migrant Smuggling - Paul Brisley, Senior Manager, National Crime Agency 
• The PDS Corporate Membership – and what that offers the forces- Clare Weaver, Corporate Relationship Manager, CIISEC
• Panel Q&A

 

Session Four - 15:00 - 15:30

• The Digital Barometer - Operational use of Sentiment Analysis - Detective Inspector Simon Hensley, West Midlands Police 
• Panel Q&A

Session 5 - 09:15 - 10:45

• OSINT Industries - Nathaniel Fried, CEO 
• Panel Q&A

 

Session 6 - 11:00 - 12:15 

• OSINT using Groundwork - Jacob Stockwell, Intern, Yorkshire & Humberside Technical Innovation Unit 

Groundwork is a LE designed & build platform similar to OSINT. Industries or Epieos and uses some of the same open-source code. It is built in house and hosted by the YHROCU. It has been used by Policing throughout the UK.

• Unregistered? Unsafe! - James Evans, Investigator, Independent and Unregistered Schools Team, Ofsted

This presentation is a brief introduction to the Unregistered Schools Team, the context within which we work, and an example of the type of investigations conducted.

• Panel Q&A

Session 7 - 11:30 - 13:45

• (Nearly) Impossible Geolocations - Sector035

Over the years, Sector035 has seen some very tricky geolocation challenges, some of them deeming to be impossible at a first glance. In this presentation he talks about some basic techniques within the field of geolocation, goes over several tricky examples, explains in detail how the locations were found, and gives a “lessons learned” on each of them.

• Online Persona Lifecycle and Account Management - Christian Oliver, IIS; Tony Marshall, YHROCU and Chris Spencer, Sheffield Hallam University 

Operation Orion is a STAR research project delivered by YHROCU,CENTRIC & Internet Investigation Solutions – Long Arm    to establish evidence-based principles for a solution that supports policing in creating, organising, and managing accounts for Internet Investigation and Intelligence purposes. Resulting in opportunities to shape and disseminate national policy, guidance, training and create a framework to inform the future development of technical solutions.

• Digital Playground; where are the teenagers hanging out and how to investigate? - Lisette Abercrombie, Netherlands Police, OSINT Specialist 

Our teens are no longer to be found on the platforms we’re using ourselves. But they can play a role in future investigations, so it’s key to know where the teens are hanging out online. In this workshop Lisette takes you on a tour across Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, Discord and BeReal and teaches you some helpful tips for investigations

• Panel Q&A

 

Session 8 - 15:00 - 15:30 

• Internet of Medical Things - Dr Isabel Straw, Visiting Researcher, University of California San Diego 
• Panel Q&A

Session 9 - 09:30 - 10:50

• Operation Shipyard - Police Superintendent Mads Helland Astrup, National Criminal Investigation Service (Kripos) 

Late 2023 the Norwegian National Criminal Investigation Service (NCIS) investigated several users grooming kids online and quite early a certain user caught our attention, being interested in child sexual abusive material. This case presentation provides an insight into how powerful law enforcement can be, when we open doors and combine the knowledge and experience from different law enforcement units. By combining undercover operators, OSINT and different approaches regarding request for information to different service providers we look closer at how we managed to identify and localize the perpetrator.

• Disinformation - Steven Harris, Cyber Threat Analyst, Protection Group International 

Disinformation is a growing threat and has implications for public order and safety. This talk is an introduction to disinformation and looks at how hostile nation states are using it to target the UK to cause social division. It will discuss what defines a disinformation operation, how to spot some commonbehaviours, and how we can monitor and detect them.

• Panel Q&A
• Closing Address - T/Assistant Commissioner Rachel Williams, Met Police, NPCC Lead for Internet Intelligence and Investigations

*Please note the agenda is subject to change