Collaborate on Research

We want to push forward how digital evidence is acquired, analysed, validated and automated. If your research or project is in digital forensics, you can work with our experts, labs and datasets.

Why collaborate with DFRTI

Our partners include universities, researchers, start-ups, forensic practitioners and tool developers. What they get from us is a team and a lab that work only on digital evidence, from storage, mobile, memory, video, IoT and network forensics to AI-based forensic models.

We give students and researchers authentic, sanitised forensic datasets to work with, always under strict ethical and legal rules.

Storage and disk forensics lab
Mobile and IoT device forensics lab
RAM and memory forensics lab
Network and cloud artefact lab
CCTV, DVR and multimedia forensics lab
AI/ML evidence processing unit

Datasets available to partners

All data is sanitised or synthetic and handled under strict ethical and legal rules.

Sanitised disk images
Mobile forensic datasets
Memory dumps
DVR streams
Cloud logs
Synthetic forensic data

Priority research areas

Storage and disk
NVMe and SSD recovery, wear levelling, RAID and NAS rebuilds, file carving and anti-forensics detection.
Mobile and IoT
Locked device extraction, IoT acquisition methods, drone logs and sensors, and TEE and Secure Enclave behaviour.
Memory and malware
RAM timelines, injection detection, cryptographic artefacts in memory and traces of polymorphic malware.
Multimedia and video
DVR format decoding, deepfake validation, metadata tamper detection and AI-assisted enhancement.
Network and cloud
VM artefact extraction, hypervisor analysis and rebuilding evidence from packets.
Blockchain and cryptocurrency
Wallet and ledger tracing, blockchain metadata and flow and linkage analysis.
AI/ML in forensics
Artefact classification, evidence similarity scoring and explainable AI for use in court.
Forensic tool development
Parsers and decoders, automation, verification frameworks and dataset pipelines.

Who we work with

Good forensic research needs people from different fields. We bring together forensic analysts, data and network engineers, AI/ML specialists and legal advisors, so projects get real-world input from the start.

Universities and research departments: thesis support, sponsored labs and co-authored papers
Government and law enforcement: specialised tool development and capability building
Independent researchers: bring your idea and get mentorship, lab support and evaluation
Start-ups and technology companies: co-develop forensic tools, libraries and AI models
Open-source developers: validation, testing and prototyping

Ways to collaborate

Joint research projects
Work together on algorithms, tools, datasets or methods.
Sponsored research
Organisations can fund research towards a specific forensic goal.
Tool development and validation
Build a new tool with us or test your existing forensic software.
Academic research support
Support for PhD, M.Tech and B.Tech research in digital forensics.
Specialised datasets
Access for tool testing, model building or validation studies.

What your proposal should include

Project title
Problem statement
Research objectives
Proposed method
Support you need from DFRTI
Timeline
Expected deliverables
Ethical and legal considerations
Your background and institution
Reference material, if any

How the process works

01
Submit your proposal
Send your details through the research proposal form.
02
Evaluation
Our research committee reviews feasibility, originality and ethical compliance, usually within 7 to 14 days.
03
Consultation and scope
We discuss changes, goals, resources and how the collaboration will be set up.
04
Agreement and onboarding
An MoU or NDA if needed, researchers assigned and lab access given where it applies.
05
Execution and review
The work goes ahead with regular reviews and technical guidance.
06
Publication or release
Joint credit, a public showcase, a tool release or documentation, or integration into DFRTI's research work.