January is that special time of year when a jolly old Englishman opens the nominations for the Forensic 4:cast awards. Nothing is changing in that regard, but changes to the awards themselves are definitely coming. Here’s what’s going to be different this year…
Nominations – The nomination process will largely stay the same. The only difference will be that we are going to be increasing the number of categories. These categories will be as follows:
- Best Computer Forensics Software
- Best Digital Forensic Blog
- Best Phone Forensic Hardware
- Best Digital Forensic Book
- Best Computer Forensic Hardware
- Best Phone Forensic Software
- Best Open Source Digital Forensic Software
- Best Digital Forensic Resource
- Digital Forensic Organization of the Year
- Digital Forensic Investigator of the Year
OK, so what, right? These are pretty much the same categories as last year, I’ve just changed some of the wording. Bear with me as we go through some new categories.
- Best New Digital Forensic Tool
- Best Forensic Education Program
- Best Digital Forensic Show (Live or Podcast)
- Digital Forensic Rookie of the Year
- Digital Forensic Educator of the Year
As I’m not quite ready to start the nomination process so there’s still time to offer suggestions. Please comment or reach out via email or social media if you have any thoughts.
Some of these categories will be presented live at the SANS DFIR Summit this summer, while others will be announced in a live stream after the summit is over.
Now, one of the things that I’ve found to be frustrating over the last 10 years of doing these awards is that winners often don’t show up. This makes for a somewhat anticlimactic event. As such, I’m going to try something bold this year. We’re going to try summit-specific awards where attendees can vote live, at the conference. These categories are still being worked on, but I’m imagining something like Best Presentation, Most Interesting Topic, Best Jackalope Rider (OK, this list may see some revision before being made final).
For these, the summit attendees will be voting right up until I announce the winner, so I won’t even know who has won until I announce it. How exciting!
Please continue to send in your suggestions and comments. These are not my awards, they are yours. I only provide the platform. And please keep a look out. The nominations will be opening soon.