Consider yourself a super sleuth? Constantly invested in true crime shows and podcasts? If so, you may want to find out more about Digital Forensics.
You may be aware of Digital Forensics because of award-winning TV show CSI, but we’ve put together a list of our must-watch shows of the genre for those looking to investigate it more, no pun intended…
Criminal Minds
Criminal Minds is a fictional show that focuses on the profiling and detainment of serial killers in America. Technical Analyst Penelope Garcia is an essential part of her team, and her analyst skills help to identify the behavioural patterns of criminals which help to catch them. She’s also skilled at uncovering files on suspects’ computers, finding evidence of their crimes. Whilst the show is fictional, it gives examples of possible real-life situations in which digital forensics would be essential to solving the crime.
Criminal Minds is available on Amazon Prime and Disney+.
Forensics – The real CSI
As the title suggests, this show brings the ever-popular CSI to reality, showcasing real-life forensic investigations being brought to justice. Some of the cases that highlight digital forensics include Episode 3, Season 1: “Every Contact Leaves a Trace”, which follows the investigation of a teenager that was raped in a park, and Episode 4, Season 1: “Fatal Weapon Unknown”, in which investigators hunt for evidence after an unusual murder.
The show is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
Don’t F*** with Cats
Don’t F*** with Cats is a true-crime Netflix documentary that follows an online manhunt that happened due to a viral video of a man, Luke Magnotta, killing two kittens. The amateur investigation started via a Facebook group and quickly became crowdsourced. The group worked together to gather evidence from the video that would prove vital to help solve the crime. The documentary does not follow a professional digital forensics investigation, however highlights some of the key skills needed for such a role and shows how incriminating the internet can truly be.
NCIS
You may have already heard of NCIS, a hugely popular show that has run for over 19 seasons. If you haven’t, it may be a great place to start your digital forensics deep-dive. The Chief Forensic Scientist on the show, Abby Scuito, is trained to process evidence found at a crime scene such as blood, hair, DNA, and any items including garbage. Abby is also a skilled hacker, and often accesses databases or defends the NCIS database using firewalls. Abby’s character highlights some essential attributes it takes to be a digital forensics scientist.
NCIS is available to watch on Channel 5 and its on-demand service.
Want to take your interest one step further? Take a look at our Digital Forensics courses.