Professor Hans Henseler

Dr J. Henseler has served part-time as the professor of Digital Forensics & E-Discovery at University of Applied Sciences Leiden since 16 August 2016. He is also a senior adviser in the Digital and Biometrical Traces division at the Netherlands Forensic Institute, a board member at the Netherlands Register of Court Experts and chair of the board of directors at DFRWS.

Digital Forensics & E-Discovery

Things change very quickly in the field of ICT. This creates new solutions for all kinds of issues affecting society, although it also creates new forms of crime, particularly cybercrime. To ensure that the education sector can anticipate and benefit from these developments optimally, the Digital Forensics & E-Discovery research group at University of Applied Sciences Leiden works together with experts from the professional field to conduct research into digital traces and their optimal use.

The research group focuses on applied research, concentrating on the professional sphere of digital experts working for investigative and security services as well as the business sector. As regards digital forensic investigations, the research group defines three different areas: investigation of open sources (Open Source Intelligence), traces left in emails and documents (E-Discovery) and traces left in smart devices connected to the Internet of Things, within which everyday appliances are connected to the network and able to exchange data (IoT Forensics). The research group then directly implements this applied research into teaching, as well as into applications for partners in the professional field.

IoT Forensic Lab

The research group's research is largely conducted in UAS Leiden's IoT Forensic Lab, situated on the campus of The Hague Security Delta (HSD). In this lab, students, teaching staff and research partners conduct digital forensic investigations with a focus on the Internet of Things. The lab is equipped with the software and hardware that the students will use in their future careers after graduation. However, given the rapid developments in the ICT sector, the most vital competences are research, report writing and the development of methods and techniques to identify, secure and analyse new digital traces.

Curriculum vitae

Hans studied Informatics at Delft University of Technology and obtained his doctorate from Maastricht University, specialising in Artificial Neural Networks. In 1992, he pioneered the field of forensic ICT at the Forensic Laboratory, the forerunner of the Netherlands Forensic Institute, after which he entered the business sector.

Since that time, he has worked for a variety of organisations, including the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO), ZyLAB, PwC, Fox-IT, Tracks Inspector and Magnet Forensics, gaining a wealth of experience working in software development, leading digital forensic laboratories, managing domestic and international E-Discovery projects and providing consultancy services concerning digital evidence for fraud investigations.