CYFOR Blog

Following preliminary accreditation in November 2021, we are proud to announce that UKAS has now officially presented CYFOR with ISO 17025.

The United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) are appointed by the government to assess and grant accreditation to organisations that provide services including certification, testing, inspection, and calibration. Following a comprehensive assessment by UKAS in June of 2021, CYFOR were notified in November 2021 that preliminary ISO 17025 accreditation had formally been achieved.

ISO 17025 is an international quality standard for establishing requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories (including digital forensic laboratories) and is employed by laboratories to develop their management system for quality, body, and technical operations.

Fast forward to August 2022 and CYFOR are officially presented with ISO 17025 at the UKAS headquarters. On hand to receive the award were Quality Manager Chris Daly, Operations & Finance Director Paul Beechinor, and Criminal Team Lead Victoria Saunders.

Gaining ISO 17025 accreditation is an important milestone for CYFOR and will further strengthen our position as a leader in Digital Forensics. We believe it is the correct time to become accredited as we continue to strive toward excellence. I would also like to personally thank the CYFOR team for their dedication and hard work in achieving this goal.

Victoria Saunders – Criminal Team Lead 

This provides CYFOR with the first steps to a comprehensive accreditation portfolio and ensures the ongoing competency of the digital forensic laboratory to ensure reliable and accurate results in line with official guidance provided by ILAC G19 (Modules in a Forensic Science Process) and the Forensic Science Regulator’s (FSR) Code of Practice. The ISO 17025 accreditation provides clients with an assurance of the transparency of our investigations and confidence in CYFOR to offer a high level of service in everything we do. It is also the first step to further accreditations to be gained and sets CYFOR in good stead to widen the scope in the coming months and years.

This accreditation not only provides authoritative assurance of the technical competence of a digital forensic laboratory; but also reviews aspects relevant to the Criminal Justice System, such as continuity of evidence, management of case files, and storage of exhibits.

CYFOR’s ISO 17025 schedule of Accreditation