Catching Up with the First Winner of the Magnet Forensics Scholarship Award
This time last year, we announced the first recipient of the Magnet Forensics Scholarship Award, Eric Dalla Mura from the Chittenden Unit for Special Investigations. We wanted to check in with Eric on how the experience turned out for him. Below is a post from Eric describing the opportunity presented to him with the Magnet Scholarship Award and what he intends to do next.
If you haven’t seen it yet, we’ve also announced this year’s winners of the Magnet Forensics Scholarship Award — read this great Q&A with each winner and find out how you can apply for the Magnet Forensics Scholarship Award if you’re getting started in digital forensics or getting started using Magnet AXIOM.
And we’ve opened up the Scholarship program for 2019, so if you’re an officer who is looking to get a head start in digital investigations, apply today! This year, we’re also offering a scholarship opportunity for experienced digital forensics experts who have no experience with Magnet AXIOM. If you’re toolkit has other solutions and you’ve been wanting to learn how to use AXIOM and incorporate it into your workflow, apply today.
Thoughts from Eric Dalla Mura
Simply put, I could not have been happier with my experience with Magnet Forensics. When I started the year, I had only some hands-on experience and an academic knowledge base. I ended the year with much more confidence in my abilities. Every class I took went far beyond an explanation of how to use the product; for every topic we covered there was something new to be learned either from the class instructor or shared by the experienced students in the room.
I was able to attend the Magnet User Summit in Nashville and took four courses: Magnet AXIOM Examinations (AX200), Advanced Computer Forensics (AX250), Advanced Mobile Forensics (AX300) and Internet and Cloud Investigations (AX320). I wish I had been able to make full use of the training pass to attend macOS Investigations (AX350) and Incident Response Examinations (AX310) as well. To whomever has this opportunity in the future I would tell them to take full advantage of the training pass and make time to take each class (and leave a little room at the end of the year in case they add more.)
The other advice I would give is to ask questions and get to know the people in the room. I quickly saw that Magnet Forensics is great about responding to end users’ needs and sharing knowledge. In every class I was in, there was a developer or two in the room taking the class and taking notes to improve the product.
I had a busy 2019 and ended the year transferred from the Burlington Police Department General Investigations Bureau to the county-wide Chittenden Unit for Special Investigations. I’ve been using AXIOM regularly and took advantage of the cloud license to quickly acquire and process victim’s accounts. I’ve also been using it to process warrant returns much more thoroughly. As a department, we have been able to get a lot more work done in-house on desktop and mobile systems without having to wait in the statewide queue.
The experience has left me wanting even more. I intend to get into a graduate program this fall and more importantly work to establish a sustainable digital forensic program at our department. I genuinely appreciate the opportunity, knowledge and the contacts I made in the digital forensic community that Magnet Forensics provided me.
Apply for a Magnet Scholarship Award Today
We want to give promising new officers an opportunity to get a head start in digital investigations. If you are currently performing a non-technical role and would like to explore future career opportunities in digital forensics, or you’re currently inexperienced with Magnet AXIOM, then this scholarship program is for you. Visit our Scholarship Program page and send in your application today!