Cybercrime is a growing global challenge and contraband content can pose a particular threat to children. Cyacomb is a spin-out company from Edinburgh Napier University that has been set-up in response to this threat. The company has received £3.5 million of investment for its products which detect illegal content.

Problem

Digital evidence is vital to investigations into child sexual exploitation. However, these investigations often take months due to delays caused by backlogs of devices waiting to be searched and the amount of detailed work required to search each device.

Solution

Cyacomb Forensics speeds-up the process by scanning devices for any recognised content. This software has been proven to provide digital evidence between 20 and 100 times faster than was previously thought possible. Cyacomb has now partnered with the Home Office and UK-based companies Qumodo and Vigil AI to produce new tools to improve the capability of the Child Abuse Image Database (CAID).

Enabling Rapid Police Response

A fast forensic tool to rapidly analyse seized devices and find images already known to law enforcement was created, as well as an image categorisation algorithm to assist officers in identifying and categorising the severity of illegal imagery. A new capability to detect images with matching scenes was also developed to help identify children in indecent images and safeguard victims.

Protecting Children Faster

Together, these tools speed up investigations of online child abuse and limit the number of indecent images of children that police officers have to view. Cyacomb now works with Police Forces across the UK in time-critical Child Sexual Exploitation and Counter Terrorism cases. Its products are also used by law enforcement agencies in the USA, having established a partnership with the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) in Virginia in 2019.