Mike Williamson’s Forensic 4:cast Award Nominations
It’s only a short time away until nominations close (May 15—get your nominations in here! – Ed) , but better late than never, right?
Here’s a look at my 2020 Forensic 4:cast award nominations!
DFIR Show of the Year
I have to nominate This Week in 4n6 originally created by Phill Moore and, since 2019, co-contributor Lodrina Cherne. I have always been struck how consistently This Week in 4n6 has been since inception. Having my own blog now, I can really see how tough it is to stay so on schedule with releasing new content! I’ve been repeatedly impressed with how the show picks up some of the obscure stories in our industry. I feel like Phill and Lodrina must be everywhere at once!
DFIR Mentor of the Year
This one is tough because I think the DFIR community is blessed to have an abundance of amazing mentors within it. Because of that, I had to go with my gut and pick someone that not only mentors others in our community regularly, but also who was a mentor to me as well. Once I factored that in, my nomination for DFIR Mentor of the Year was clear: Alexis Brignoni. Alexis is known for his dedication to the community, his uncanny ability to fit more than 24 hours of work into the day, and for his all-round awesomeness.
DFIR Resource of the Year
For this category I would like to nominate the #DFIR Discord channel, created by Andrew Rathbun and his team of excellent moderators. The channel has grown so much over the last few years and 2019 was no exception. I have connected with any number of people in the industry that I wouldn’t otherwise have been able to. This is just an exceptional resource. The networking opportunities alone has had a measurable impact on my professional career. Thanks Andrew and the rest of the team!
Digital Forensic Investigator of the Year
I think this category can be a tricky one because in DFIR jobs, we aren’t generally able to share everything (or anything) that we’ve worked on. That could mean I won’t have enough knowledge to be able to make a nomination in this category for next year. For 2019 though, the choice is totally clear: Shafik Punja is one of the most thorough, knowledgeable, dedicated examiners I have had the pleasure to know and work with. I had the opportunity to collaborate with Shafik in the form of a guest blog on Photos.sqlite on my personal blog in May of last year. Shafik’s passion for forensics, dedication to the field, and meticulous nature are unmatched in our industry and for those reasons, I’d like to put him forward for Digital Forensic Investigator of the Year.
Catch Up on Other Nominations From Our Examiners
If you need some ideas for nominations in other categories, check out our nomination series from our Examiners, including Jessica Hyde, Trey Amick, Jamie McQuaid, and Tarah Melton.