Marco Fontani joins the Forensic Focus podcast to discuss Amped Software’s latest AI-powered tool, DeepPlate. DeepPlate is a deep learning system designed to read license plates affected by common issues introduced by surveillance systems, making it a valuable asset for forensic video analysts.

Marco provides an in-depth overview of DeepPlate, explaining how it currently supports eight countries (France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, the UK, and the United States) and how it uses separate models for each country to account for varying license plate formats. He also discusses the synthetic data generation process used for training the models, ensuring privacy and mitigating bias.

The conversation delves into the limitations and considerations when using AI-based tools in a forensic workflow, with Marco emphasizing the importance of bias mitigation techniques and proper interpretation of confidence scores. He stresses that DeepPlate is an investigative tool designed to provide a second opinion, rather than a tool for court admissibility.

00:00 – What is DeepPlate and what is its purpose?

02:45 – How many countries does DeepPlate currently support?

09:30 – What are the challenges of diplomatic and personalised number plates?

11:30 – How would a forensic video analyst use DeepPlate as part of their workflow?

13:40 – Can DeepPlate be used in Court?

16:30 – What is Amped Software’s position on AI?

19:00 – What will be the impact of updated models on results?

20:50 – What kind of data is used to train the system?

23:30 – How has the system been tested?

26:15 – What are the access conditions for using DeepPlate?

28:05 – Does Amped Software retain user data for DeepPlate and if yes for how long?

29:45 – Is it possible to buy additional seats for your license?

31:00 – What are the limitations and considerations when using AI-based tools like DeepPlate for forensic and investigative purposes?

35:20 – Does Amped Software plan to use AI in other areas?

Show Notes

Washington State Judge Blocks Use Of AI-Enhanced Video As Evidence In Possible First-Of-Its-Kind-Ruling - https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7181308834370494464/

Neural Network for Denoising and Reading Degraded License Plates - https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-68780-9_39

Introducing DeepPlate, Amped’s Investigative Tool for AI-Powered License Plate Reading - https://blog.ampedsoftware.com/2024/02/28/introducing-deepplate-ampeds-investigative-tool-for-ai-powered-license-plate-reading

Join Si and Desi for another episode of the Forensic Focus Podcast. This week, they discuss the lack of transparency and potential misrepresentation in the cybersecurity industry, particularly regarding the use of open-source tools by companies and the questionable interpretation of data and statistics in marketing and advertising.

The conversation also delves into the implications of relying on computer systems and algorithms to make important decisions, such as in the case of the Post Office scandal in the UK and the Centrelink repayment debacle in Australia. They emphasize the importance of human oversight, critical thinking, and considering the human impact of such decisions, rather than blindly trusting the outputs of computer systems.

00:00 – The state of the digital forensics industry

02:30 – Desi’s talk at BSides Brisbane

05:30 – Sweaty Cyber Advice and Strongman

09:40 – Companies integrating open source software

23:00 – Advertising, statistics and logical fallacies

28:00 – The Post Office scandal and computer accountability

49:00 – Security, compliance and regulations

56:00 – Closing thoughts

Show Notes

Hardly Adequate YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@hardlyadequate

Oxfordshire’s Strongman & Strongwoman - https:\oxfordshire.rocks\

CPS, Computer Records Evidence - https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/computer-records-evidence

Your Logical Fallacyis - https://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/

British Post Office Scandal - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Post_Office_scandal

The Guardian, Robodebt Scandal - https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/mar/11/robodebt-five-years-of-lies-mistakes-and-failures-that-caused-a-18bn-scandal

Tyler Vigen, Spurious Correlations - http://www.tylervigen.com/spurious-correlations

Forensic Focus Discord - https://discord.gg/97zKvTXHeS

Sophie Powell joins Si and Desi on the Forensic Focus Podcast to discuss various topics including her recent participation in a TryHackMe webinar, the challenges of applying for graduate schemes, and the relevance of the Cyber 9/12 competition to her career in cybersecurity. They also touch on the psychology of conspiracy theories and the implications of deepfake technology.

00:00 – Welcome to the podcast

03:00 – Sweaty Cyber Advice

03:55 – Fitness and forensics

07:00 – Mental health and mindfulness

09:10 – Gamified assessments

17:00 – Video recorded self-assessments

20:10 – Filtering candidates to fill roles

24:25 – Graduate schemes versus graduate jobs

27:40 – Apprenticeships and student loans

33:40 – Starting out on a graduate scheme

37:35 – UK Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge

43:55 – Dangers of deepfakes

51:10 – Conspiracy theories and computer psychology

54:40 – Closing thoughts

Show Notes

Hardly Adequate - https://hardlyadequate.com

Try Hack Me - https://tryhackme.com/

UK Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge - https://www.ukcyber912.co.uk/