Digital and mobile forensicsprimary
4 projects
FORMOBILE, EXFILES, UNCOVER, and ASGARD all focus on extracting and analyzing digital evidence from devices, encrypted smartphones, and digital media.
Organization
Netherlands Forensic Institute
Dutch national forensic science lab specializing in digital forensics, explosives analysis, and evidence processing tools for European law enforcement.
Research institutesecurityNL
H2020 projects
13
As coordinator
1
Total EC funding
€4.7M
Unique partners
176
What they do
Their core work
The Netherlands Forensic Institute (NFI) is the Dutch national forensic science laboratory, providing expert analysis and evidence processing for law enforcement and the justice system. They specialize in physical trace analysis, digital forensics, explosives profiling, and increasingly in cybersecurity and encrypted device investigation. Their H2020 work focuses on developing new forensic tools and methods — from extracting data from locked smartphones to detecting hidden information in digital media — that directly support criminal investigations across Europe.
Core expertise
What they specialise in
Physical trace and crime scene analysisprimary
3 projects
SHUTTLE developed unified forensic trace analysis toolkits, RISEN focuses on real-time on-site trace qualification, and VISAGE on DNA-based forensic identification.
Explosives and pyrotechnics profilingsecondary
3 projects
PyroProf (their only coordinated project) focused on chemical profiling of explosives, ENTRAP on neutralising explosive threats, and INHERIT on explosives precursor investigation.
Criminal intelligence and network analysissecondary
2 projects
ROXANNE developed real-time speaker and network analytics for combating organized crime, while STARLIGHT applies AI to support law enforcement against high-priority threats.
Cybersecurity and encryption breakingemerging
2 projects
EXFILES (their largest funded project at EUR 801K) and STARLIGHT both address cybersecurity challenges facing law enforcement, including encrypted device access.
Steganography and hidden data detectionemerging
1 project
UNCOVER specifically develops frameworks for uncovering hidden data in digital media, combining forensic expertise with information security.
Evolution & trajectory
How they've shifted over time
Early focus
Physical forensics and explosives
Recent focus
Digital forensics and cybersecurity
In their early H2020 period (2016–2019), NFI focused on physical forensics: explosives profiling (PyroProf, ENTRAP), trace analysis standardization (SHUTTLE), and foundational data gathering (ASGARD). From 2019 onward, their work shifted decisively toward digital challenges — mobile device forensics, encrypted smartphone extraction, steganography detection, and AI-powered law enforcement tools. This mirrors the broader shift in criminal investigation from physical to digital evidence domains.
NFI is moving firmly into AI-assisted digital forensics and cybersecurity for law enforcement — expect future projects at the intersection of encryption, AI, and criminal investigation.
Collaboration profile
How they like to work
Role: specialist_contributorReach: European29 countries collaborated
NFI operates almost exclusively as a participant (12 of 13 projects), contributing deep forensic domain expertise to larger consortia rather than leading them. Their single coordinator role was a focused Marie Curie fellowship (PyroProf), suggesting they prefer to bring specialist knowledge to projects led by others. With 176 unique partners across 29 countries, they are a highly connected hub in the European security research ecosystem — a trusted institution that many different consortia want on board.
NFI has collaborated with 176 unique partners across 29 countries, giving them one of the broadest networks in European forensic science. Their partnerships span law enforcement agencies, universities, and technology companies across nearly all EU member states.
Why partner with them
What sets them apart
NFI is one of very few national forensic institutes actively engaged in EU research — most forensic labs are purely operational. This gives them the rare combination of real casework experience (they process actual criminal evidence daily) and research capability to develop next-generation forensic methods. For consortium builders, NFI brings immediate credibility with law enforcement end-users and can validate tools against real-world forensic workflows.
Notable projects
Highlights from their portfolio
- EXFILESLargest NFI project by funding (EUR 801K), tackling the critical law enforcement challenge of extracting forensic data from encrypted smartphones.
- PyroProfNFI's only coordinated project — a Marie Curie fellowship on chemical profiling of explosives, showing their deep expertise in pyrotechnic analysis.
- SHUTTLEAmbitious effort to create unified European standards for forensic trace analysis, positioning NFI at the center of cross-border forensic lab collaboration.
Cross-sector capabilities
Digital technologies and cybersecurityChemistry and materials analysisArtificial intelligence for public safetyStandardization and quality assurance
More in Security & Safety
See all Security & Safety organizations →KENTRO MELETON ASFALEIAS
Greek security research center connecting law enforcement practitioners with AI, border control, and counter-terrorism technologies across 75 EU projects.
Open →
SOFTWARE IMAGINATION AND VISION SRL
Romanian AI and IoT software SME specializing in security analytics, cybersecurity, and cross-domain data fusion platforms across 41 H2020 projects.
Open →
MINISTERIO DEL INTERIOR
Spain's national security authority providing frontline law enforcement expertise for EU research in cybercrime, counter-terrorism, border surveillance, and AI-driven policing.
Open →