Rob Fried, digital forensics consultant, author, and assistant professor at Hofstra University, joins the Forensic Focus Podcast to talk about the evolving challenges of forensic practice, AI in investigations, and his latest book. Rob discusses his annual publication cadence — now in its fourth edition — and how each year's content is shaped by real cases, collaborations, and emerging topics in the DFIR community. This year's edition tackles AI policy, data culling strategy, and the documentation practices that keep forensic work defensible in court.

The conversation also covers the growing complexity of remote collections and the soft skills required to manage them effectively, the tension between targeted and full file system approaches, and what happens when those decisions come under scrutiny in litigation. Rob shares his experience building a forensics practice from the ground up within an established e-discovery firm, his work teaching the next generation of examiners at Hofstra, and his upcoming symposium — now in its fifth year — which this year will focus on open source intelligence and corporate investigations.

#mobileforensics #digitalforensics #dfir

⏱️ Timestamps

00:00 Introducing Rob Fried

03:48 Why Rob Keeps Writing

07:33 AI Policies and Teaching

09:39 AI Tools and NotebookLM

11:42 AI Spam Call Story

14:33 Forensic Lab and Data Strategy

22:30 Targeted Collection Risks

26:10 Remote Collections and Soft Skills

33:41 Building a Forensics Practice

35:14 Academia and Closing Skill Gaps

39:17 Forensics Network

41:26 Learning and Collaboration

45:42 Planning the Annual Symposium

50:36 Tech Roots and Career Values

54:49 Swag, Challenge Coins and Future Plans

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🎥 Video/Transcript: https://www.forensicfocus.com/podcast/rob-fried-on-new-challenges-in-digital-forensics/

📝 Show Notes

Forensics By Fried – https://forensicsbyfried.com

Rob Fried's Books – https://forensicsbyfried.com/books

AI Spoof Call (Instagram) – https://www.instagram.com/reel/DVOXY5MiGNT/?igsh=N3J0cDJwaXk1bW5o

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