Another new feature that we’ve added to Magnet IEF in version 6.6 is Profiles. This feature allows investigators to build a profile of a particular person of interest that may be involved in the investigation. This person of interest may be a suspect, a victim, or just someone who is involved with or associated to one of those people.
In my previous roles as a forensic investigator, I would create profiles for certain persons of interest that commonly came up in my investigations. They weren’t always suspects but they were often associated to more than one investigation. These profiles would include names, aliases, phone numbers, email addresses, online user accounts or any other unique identifier we would uncover during our investigation. I collected this intelligence on spreadsheets and often linked this data using tools like Maltego or i2 for larger datasets. It is for these types of scenarios that we built the Profiles and Identifiers features into IEF.
Upon examining the results of a search within the IEF Report Viewer, you may notice we’ve added an additional Refined Result called Identifiers. Basically, Magnet IEF has taken any recovered artifact that might be considered a unique identifier and listed them here. You will find contacts, computer and app users, chat partners or any other field that might be used to uniquely identify a person of interest in your case. Using these identifiers, examiners can build profiles for one or more persons of interest, then sort and organize any artifacts or evidence that is associated to each profile.
Building profiles for persons of interest are a great way to start thinking strategically about your examinations and understand that collecting this type of intelligence data may assist in future investigations done by yourself or your colleagues. For additional information on how profiles are built in Magnet IEF, take a look at this helpful resource: Magnet IEF Feature Profile: Profiles & Identifiers.
If you have any additional questions or comments feel free to reach out at jamie(dot)mcquai(at)magnetforensics.com.
Here are some related resources you might also be interested in:
- Resource: Magnet IEF Feature Profile: Profiles& Identifiers
- Read the next blog in our series: Examiner & Investigator Modes
- New to IEF: Request a 30-day trial
- Current customers: Upgrade to Magnet IEF v6.6
Jamie McQuaid
Forensics Consultant, Magnet Forensics
