Enhanced FTK Connect increases the power and speed of FTK® solutions with new automation, integration and visualization capabilities. Exterro improves digital forensics and incident response automation with upgrades to FTK® Connect.
Exterro, provider of legal GRC software that unifies e-discovery, digital forensics, privacy and cybersecurity compliance, today announces the release of its updated FTK® Connect digital forensics tool. It extends Exterro's industry-leading platform with powerful new automation, orchestration, and integration capabilities.
Speed up investigations
On the one hand, the automation of FTK Connect enables companies to accelerate the response to incidents or investigations of security breaches. On the other hand, it enables law enforcement agencies and public sector clients to streamline the processing and review of forensic evidence in criminal cases. The launch is an example of Exterro's continued investment in the FTK® product line as it plans for a future IPO. It also demonstrates the company's commitment to the digital forensics and incident response market.
Per week: 50 percent more corporate attacks
In 2021, companies were exposed to around 50 percent more cyber attacks per week than in the previous year - and companies worldwide expect an increase in attacks. If forensic tools are not directly integrated with cyber intrusion tools, there is a risk that the evidence needed to remediate the attack cannot be secured. FTK Connect supports incident response needs by combining new automation capabilities with the power and speed of Exterro's FTK solutions; whether conducting forensic investigations, incident response workflows or securing corporate assets.
In addition, SIEM and SOAR platforms such as Splunk and Palo Alto Networks can be automatically integrated with FTK's forensic products. This allows evidence to be secured immediately upon detection of an intrusion, without the need for human intervention. In addition, the solution offers a drastically simplified drag-and-drop user interface (UI). It was specifically designed to make it easy for non-programmers to create automations for any case type.
The public sector
For government agencies, FTK Connect provides a much-needed automation solution to help them meet a variety of today's challenges. This includes, among other things, backlogs in the processing of cases. These occur due to tightened budgets, a lack of staff training, and the sheer volume of data that needs to be processed. The cost of equipping a crime lab with the latest technology and highly skilled experts is prohibitive for most agencies.
As a result, after a drive has been secured or evidence collected, forensic investigations are delayed because they depend on the availability of trained examiners. Because of these circumstances - and for reasons of cost - agencies are increasingly using non-technical examiners who, while not trained in forensics or forensic software, still need to prepare cases for review by an appropriate expert. As a result, investigation completion rates remain behind.
Forensics: Law enforcement workflows
"By deploying FTK-Connect automation, law enforcement agencies can perform forensic workflows much faster and make better use of their existing hardware and software investments by deploying them even when users are away," said Harsh Behl, Director of Product Management at Exterro. “When the automation is scheduled outside of office hours, the 16 hours of the day between leaving the workplace and the investigator arriving the next morning that was previously wasted is utilized. Law enforcement agencies using FTK® Lab or FTK® Central with FTK Connect will be able to close more cases in less time.”
The enhancements to FTK Connect are the result of Exterro's close partnership with well-known customers in the USA and Europe. The extensive experience and market knowledge of these customers has helped Exterro to develop a tool that creates efficiencies and fills the biggest gaps of other forensic solutions.
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About exterro Exterro provides legal governance, risk and compliance software that the world's largest corporations, law firms and government agencies use to proactively manage and protect their complex data protection, cybersecurity compliance, legal operations and digital forensics processes. The software is the only one in the industry that combines all legal GRC requirements within a single platform and offers extensive automation capabilities.