Norfolk & Suffolk Digital Forensic Unit partner with ANS to securely backup Digital Forensic data in line with UKAS recommendations

Norfolk & Suffolk Digital Forensic Unit (DFU) have partnered with leading digital transformation provider and cloud services specialist, ANS, to implement a secure and scalable backup solution within Microsoft Azure. The solution helps the DFU satisfy United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) compliance requirements, whilst providing a cost effective and robust platform to securely store 3 petabytes of Digital Forensic data. This will enable the DFU to manage and analyse digital evidence more effectively, ensuring they can support investigations and legal processes with reliable and secure data.

A Microsoft backup solution provides Norfolk & Suffolk with the following capabilities:  

• A secure, scalable and compliant storage capability – Enabling large volumes of digital evidence to be stored in an immutable format, ensuring data cannot be altered or deleted, to maintain its integrity for legal proceedings.  
• Meet UKAS compliance requirements – Providing long-term data retention and advanced security features like role-based access control and encryption with customer managed keys. 
• Future-proofed solution offering scalability and flexibility – Enabling the DFU to scale their storage and compute resources as needed, providing flexibility to handle varying volumes of digital evidence without the need for significant upfront investment in physical hardware. 
• Improved Data Management through Azure’s automation tools – Forensic units can automate repetitive tasks, such as creating and managing backups, improving efficiency and reducing the risk of human error. 

ANS Blue Light Industry Lead Chris Hampson said: “Norfolk & Suffolk’s requirements for this project are very similar to several other digital forensic departments we work with, so it was nice to be able to share our experience with Robyn and the team. We are proud to have built this partnership and to have played a key role in helping Norfolk & Suffolk with their UKAS accreditation.”