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First UKAS accreditation of a provider of digital forensic proficiency testing schemes – CACI Ltd
While UKAS has been accrediting providers of proficiency testing (PT) schemes to ISO/IEC 17043 for many years, it has now awarded the first accreditation to a provider offering PT in the field of digital forensics.
CACI Ltd received accreditation in 2024 for a scope that covers the provision of PT for the acquisition, processing and analysis of data from computer and mobile devices.
Participation in PT schemes enables participants to assess their performance in specific tests or examinations and compare it with that of similar organisations. PT schemes include an independent assessment of participants’ data against known or expected outcomes, either confirming satisfactory performance or indicating the need for further investigation. This provides assurance to both the participating organisation and its customers.
CACI Ltd, which forms part of CACI International Inc headquartered in Reston, Virginia, was established in 1975. It has since grown to employ some 1,500 people working across 10 offices throughout the UK, with the company’s headquarters in Kensington, London.
Over the past two years CACI Ltd has set up a digital forensics laboratory in Northallerton, North Yorkshire, to support customers working in the field of law enforcement, operating within the criminal justice system.
In this time, CACI Ltd has gained UKAS accreditation to ISO/IEC 17025 for its testing activities and now ISO/IEC 17043 as a provider of digital forensics PT.
Scope of CACI’s digital forensics PT scheme
The digital forensics PT schemes run by CACI Ltd have been designed to provide inter-laboratory comparison between digital forensic laboratories that conduct work for the criminal justice system. Its customers include local, regional and national police organisations, alongside other public and private sector digital forensic providers. Participation in appropriate schemes enables participants to gain assurance and make improvements to their digital forensic processes.
How the digital forensics PT scheme works
Richard Cockerill, CACI’s Digital Forensics Laboratory Operations Director, explains: “The schemes are designed for UK law enforcement laboratories and replicate, as closely as possible, typical digital forensic submissions in a criminal investigation. To make the tests as realistic as possible, we create scenarios that mirror a criminal investigation and utilise a wide range of test devices which we populate with ground truth data. The test devices contain scenario-based content associated with the submission background and points to prove, which present a number of challenges to participants.”
“Test devices, packaged as police exhibits in evidence bags, are then sent out to participants who carry out their examination processes and answer questions supplied by us relating to the test devices and associated content. All PT schemes come with submission documentation, allowing participants to test their full end-to-end processes.”
CACI’s Technical Manager, Martin Hammond, explains: “Once data from all participants is received and analysed each participant is sent a Final Report, containing their results alongside the anonymised results from all participants within their PT cycle. The data contained within the final report enables participant laboratories to assess their performance and identify improvements using data relating to other participants’ performance and processes. A cumulative report is published periodically which contains the results generated from other cycles of the same PT scheme, enabling further improvements to be identified using an expanded dataset.”
Richard says: “It was crucial to the success of our digital forensics laboratory that we achieved accreditation for both ISO/IEC 17043:2023 and ISO/IEC 17025:2017, with compliance to the Forensic Science Regulator Code of Practice and ILAC G19. We had fantastic support from UKAS Senior Assessment Manager Andy Wilkins and Assessment Manager Trisha Van Rooyen throughout the process.”
The significance of accreditation for CACI
Richard says: “Gaining UKAS accreditation is hugely significant for us as it means that ISO/IEC 17025 accredited digital forensics laboratories can participate in ISO/IEC 17043 accredited digital forensics PT schemes that have been created with the same high degree of quality control to match the services they provide.
“CACI is also accredited to ISO/IEC 17025 for the delivery of digital forensic investigation services to law enforcement clients. We use these accredited and validated methods during the creation and assessment of our PT schemes, ensuring that quality underpins all activities associated with our PT schemes.”
Expanding the scope of accreditation
As digital technology is evolving all the time CACI Ltd has plans to further develop the schemes it offers, and to extend accreditation, to ensure ongoing adherence to the latest standards to meet the demands of its clients.