Magnet OUTRIDER is a triage tool that enables officers and digital forensics professionals to rapidly scan computers and storage devices on-scene and in the lab to determine whether they contain child sexual abuse material or other illicit content.
When officers arrive on-scene, time is of the essence. Agencies will often find multiple devices in a suspect’s home and need to be able to quickly determine whether they contain child sexual abuse material or other contraband. Many agencies are collecting multiple smartphones, computers, tablets and IoT devices and their digital forensic labs are struggling to keep pace. It’s essential to quickly determine which devices require further analysis in order to limit the increasing pressure on digital forensic labs. The sooner police agencies can determine a device contains child sexual abuse material, the quicker police can work to prevent revictimization.
Magnet OUTRIDER leverages technology developed by the Child Rescue Coalition that can quickly identify child sexual abuse material. Performing a scan is so simple that some agencies have empowered their first responders to handle them. Other agencies utilize the solution in their digital forensics lab to prioritize devices for review.
Magnet OUTRIDER is pre-programmed to scan for applications often linked to nefarious activity, including those connected to the dark web, peer-to-peer file sharing and cryptocurrency. Users can also add case-specific keywords to the search. With this work done in advance, an analyst or investigator only needs to plug in a USB key to launch a scan on the suspect’s device. Magnet OUTRIDER can scan more than one million files in under one minute. The findings can help police agencies determine whether they need to examine the device further, while providing real-time intel that investigators can use when they interview suspects.
“Magnet OUTRIDER is saving police agencies critical time as it’s allowing them to immediately identify the computers and storage devices that are going to be central to their investigations,” said Glen Pounder, chief operating officer of the Child Rescue Coalition and former international liaison officer with the U.K.’s National Crime Agency.