Benefits and risks of implementing cloud-based technology for child sexual abuse investigations in Australia

Abstract

Transitioning to cloudbased infrastructure (CBI) for processing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) collected during police investigations could address resource challenges agencies currently face. While CBI provides quantifiable scalability and budgetary and interagency collaborative advantages, potential risks associated with data security, data sovereignty, and various legal and regulatory concerns may make agencies hesitant to make this transition. However, this paper demonstrates how a ‘shared responsibility model’ approach to cloud security can minimise risks, allowing investigators to take advantage of CBI benefits. In partnership with Oracle Corporation, we demonstrate how this could be implemented and continually monitored for new vulnerabilities within a CSAM context over time.