Professor Harm van Beek
Since September 1, 2024, prof. dr. Harm van Beek has been a professor of Digital Forensics at the Open Universiteit.
Society is digitizing. Investigation services notice this in their cases, in which they encounter large quantities of digital evidence every day. Everyone leaves digital traces behind almost continuously. But how do you find that one relevant email? And how do you make sure the evidence is usable in a criminal case? That's what Harm is going to investigate. Harm: “There is a need for a scientific basis to search through the proliferation of digital traces and to use relevant traces as evidence in court.”
Innovation in Digital Investigation and Evidence
Criminal law places strict requirements on the collection and use of digital evidence. Systems and methods must meet these requirements. The Digital Forensics chair therefore focuses on research into methods and techniques that can be used to (automatically) obtain and interpret digital traces. And in addition, it looks at the strict requirements of criminal law and the usability of the evidence obtained in court. And that is extremely valuable. Harm: 'By combining the efforts and expertise of legal practitioners and technical experts in digital forensic matters, we can establish an even stronger basis for digital forensics in criminal cases.'
Cooperation Open Universiteit and NFI
With this special chair, the Faculties of Science and Law of the Open Universiteit and the NFI are joining forces. With the improvement of the (foundation of) applied forensic science, an important contribution is made to the innovation of digital investigation and evidence.
Curriculum Vitae
Prof. dr. Harm van Beek (1975, Westerhoven), studied Computer Science at Eindhoven University of Technology and obtained his PhD from the same university in 2005 with the thesis 'Specification and Analysis of Internet Applications'. While studying, he and two fellow students founded ISAAC, a company dedicated to developing middleware and software for the internet. In 2009, he joined the Netherlands Forensic Institute, where, among other things, he founded Hansken, the open digital forensic platform. Hansken helps investigative agencies to examine digital evidence, from computers and smartphones, for example, quickly and efficiently.
Harm combines his professorship with his position as senior digital forensics scientist at the NFI.