General
There are currently three ways you can engage with the project.
1. General Stakeholder - By signing up as a general stakeholder, you can define the areas where you are keen to get involved. Also, depending on your expertise, you may be informed about certain tasks throughout the project, and your active participation may be requested.
2. FORMOBILE Portal User - The Secure Portal, developed during the project, provides a place for LEAs and members of governmental institutions dedicated to mobile forensics to review aspects of the project that are not for public viewing. Also, the portal provides a community area where members can engage in discussion about the topics related to FORMOBILE.
3. FORMOBILE Newsletter Subscriber - For those who want to stay informed but are not looking for active participation, you can use the Quarterly Newsletter to stay informed about the efforts of FORMOBILE.
Please note, the FORMOBILE project consortium was agreed during the proposal stage; therefore, you cannot be a partner.
FORMOBILE is funded by the European Commission under the Grant Agreement No.832800. Article (2) of the Horizon 2020 Rules for Participation Regulation No 1290/2013 the European Commission defines the basic idea of the funding by stating that “Horizon 2020 should be implemented with a view to contributing directly to creating industrial leadership, growth and employment as well as citizens' welfare in Europe”. The FORMOBILE consortium serves this request with its description of action (DoA) and its diverse consortium consisting of 19 partners from 15 different countries representing law enforcement agencies (HO, MIR-PN, KWPP, MPF, PJ), universities (HSMW, TUD, UPat, KSTU), one research institution (FORTH), one standardisation institution (ASI), public bodies (NFI, NMPS, ZITiS), non-profit (PPHS, LIF) and for-profit organizations (MSAB, TLX, SI). The technical tools are developed by the European partners HSWM (Project Coordinator), NFI, TUD, MSAB and ZITiS.
For more information about the partners of the project please see the 'Partners page'.
Tools
If you are a registered stakeholder with FORMOBILE we can give you free access to the visualizer prototype software for feedback and observations on a 30-day demo license. Please contact us for more details.
Please see descriptions of Work Packages 4-6 on the FORMOBILE project page.
Standards
Please register as a stakeholder and we can let you know when the next CWA workshops will be held for input
A CWA is an agreement developed and approved in a CEN Workshop. The development of a CWA is fast and flexible, on average between 10-12 months. A CWA does not have the status of a European Standard. It involves no obligation at the national level.
A CWA is open to the direct participation of anyone with an interest in the development of the agreement. There is no geographical limit on participation; participants may be from any organisation inside and outside Europe.
A CWA is a technical agreement, which reflects the consensus of only the registered participants responsible for its contents. It does not represent the level of consensus and transparency required for a European Standard (EN) and is not designed to support legislative requirements. It is instead designed to offer market players a flexible and timely tool for achieving a technical agreement. The conditions that have to be met in the development phase of the Workshop Agreement are deliberately light to facilitate its elaboration.
The registration form is necessary in order to actively participate in the Workshop and work on the text. However, if you decide not to sign the registration form, you still have an opportunity to comment on the text during the Open Commenting Phase. If you need to speak with us, please get in touch.
The text is written by the Workshop participants. The Secretariat oversees and moderates the CWA, providing their expertise in the process of standard development.
A CWA may not conflict with a European Standard (EN); if a conflicting EN is subsequently published, the CWA shall be withdrawn. The new FORMOBILE CWA will not and cannot replace the existing standards, but is intended to supplement them.
The reach of the new standard will be supported by dedicated activities of the FORMOBILE Project as well as the CEN Workshop, i.e. dissemination, promotion, engagement with key stakeholders, etc.
No, the CWA (as all CEN standards) will not be free of charge. All CEN publications are protected by copyright and associated exploitation rights.
It will be available online from the CEN's National Members and Affiliates for a fee.
The use of standards is voluntary; there is no legal obligation to apply them unless they are part of the legislation.
The CWA may be further developed into an EN (if such additional authority is required by the market), by transferring it to the traditional CEN committee process.
Although the Open Commenting Phase is usually optional, its use is recommended to ensure as transparent a process as possible in the development of the CWA. Moreover, if a CWA is developed using public funding, such external enquiry is obligatory.
The CEN/CENELEC Members will be notified of the draft's availability on the CEN/CENELEC web site. They may undertake further necessary actions to make the draft available nationally.
Follow FORMOBILE on LinkedIn and Twitter to see updates as they are made.
The draft shall be considered complete once the Workshop Chairman believes consensus on the content to have been reached among the Workshop participants.
Training
Absolutely, please register as a stakeholder and we can provide regular updates on WP7 activities, and if suitable we can let you know when the first trial evaluation training courses will be held.
The curriculum can be used by law enforcement/military agencies in mobile forensics, vendors/non-commercial organisations offering expertise in mobile forensics, and academic institutions offering digital/mobile forensic courses or modules. Information about the curriculum can be found in deliverable D7.1 on the portal. For more information about the availability, use and governance of the materials, please contact us.
We ask you to contact us if you would like to use the curriculum.
You can apply to take part here. For more information, read this article.
. Please sign up as a stakeholder to remain informed of changes as they develop.
Also, you can follow FORMOBILE on Twitter and LinkedIn to keep updated with all new information as it develops.
Yes, the curriculum is tool agnostic. Implementation of the curriculum will utilise MSAB tools in the pilot training. If you would like to implement the materials using other appropriate tools some of the materials will have to be replicated and built into other solutions for the architecture to be compatible.
More information will follow as the details are confirmed. Please register as a stakeholder to remain informed.
No, the courses will be using simulations in these courses so the tools will not be required.
- Norwegian Police University College (on behalf of the Norwegian Ministry of Defence and Public Safety)
- Foundation of Research and Technology Hellas (FORTH)
- Micro Systemation (MSAB)
- University of Adelaide
- Netherlands Forensic Institute (NFI)
- Central Office for Information Technology in the Security Sector (ZITiS)
- Polish Platform for Homeland Security (PPHS)
There are two types of certificate:
- Certificate of attendance: webinars or workshops at level 3 participants attend, but do not complete the assessment; or, workshops at level 4 where there is no assessment
- Certificate of successful: completion: after the campus week and the webinars or workshops at level 3 where participants complete and pass the final assessment.
We do not define an 'expert' in mobile forensics; however, we suggest a number of competencies that various stakeholders in mobile forensic roles should possess. These are described in pages 66-68 of the deliverable D7.1 available on the portal.
Yes, if the programme is within the field of digital or mobile forensics and you have been studying the topic for at least six months.
Researchers are not the main stakeholder of this initiative. However, if the researcher's work contributes to the field of mobile forensics, then exceptions will be made. Please contact us if you are interested in the use of the curriculum and/or training.
You can also apply to take part in the pilot programme and a member of the team will contact you in due course.
The private investigator is not one of the main stakeholders of this initiative, however, exceptions can be made. Please contact us to enquire about using or attending the training and/or curriculum.
You can also apply to take part in the pilot programme. A member of the team will update you in due course if you have been successful.
The training aims to address training for the law enforcement community, primarily EU countries or are considered EU friendly.
The pilot course will run in the last six months of the project. (Approximately November 2021 - April 2022)
You can also apply to take part in the pilot programme and a member of the team will contact you in due course.
The course materials will be made available at the end of the project: April 2022. Please follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter to remain informed of progress. Besides, you can register as a stakeholder if you want to take a more active role.
Also, you can also apply to take part in the pilot programme and a member of the team will contact you in due course.
It is not the aim of the project to be a competitor of existing training offerings. Instead, the curriculum should be integrated where possible across the community, and the curriculum followed as a guideline for mobile forensics education and training and professional development for practitioners.
We suggest that levels 1 and 2 of the FORMOBILE curriculum should be implemented by all to ensure quality assurance. However, for the courses at levels 3 and 4, approval of other vendor offerings may be given as long as they comply with the FORMOBILE curriculum, and only when it is assessed that all course learning outcomes are met. Please contact us to discuss this further.
The curriculum is a form of guideline, based on existing education and training practices to outline the current mobile forensic training scope alongside the needs of law enforcement. It is designed to support a range of stakeholders within the community.
No, we suggest all practitioners outlined in the project complete courses at levels 1 and 2. Levels 3 and 4 are optional.
No, the use of the FORMOBILE curriculum is voluntary.
The curriculum has undergone an internal and external review with a number of law enforcement, training and academic professionals with many years' experience. Please see FAQ: When and how was the curriculum developed?
Version 1.0 of the Novel Curriculum was prepared by the Norwegian Police University College (PHS) in April 2020. The curriculum was developed using research conducted by WP7, a collaborative process which took 12 months. The research included evaluation of current education and training offerings; questionnaire and interviews with academics and trainers and a questionnaire which included 136 law enforcement officials for law enforcement needs. The results from these initiatives informed the development of the novel curriculum. The most recent version of the curriculum document can be found on the portal.
To facilitate the needs of law enforcement for mobile forensics education and training in order to fight serious crimes.
Yes, please see pages 73-74 of deliverable D7.1 on the portal and follow the guidance. The curriculum is available on the portal.
Requests for change included:
- Addition, Amendment or Removal of a course Knowledge, Skill or Competence
- Addition or Amendment to a Pre-requisite or study requirements
- Change of Assessment (e.g., type or duration)
- Administrative (e.g., typo, clarity etc.)
The curriculum will undergo periodic review throughout the lifespan of the project. Updates of the curriculum will be made available on the FORMOBILE portal.
Please contact WP7 if you have more to share about the entire FORMOBILE training and curriculum topics.
Contact can be made with WP7.
Confidential courses are restricted to law enforcement. If you are a law enforcement agency who would like to know more information about these courses and access to training, please contact us.