Professional biography
Ian Kennedy graduated with a control systems engineering degree and has over twenty years practice in industry, initially in software development and commissioning then subsequently as a digital forensic investigator/expert witness; working in a rich variety of sectors such as health, criminal justice, corporate consultancy and the civil service. He has completed over 300 investigations, including a number of high profile cases. This has enabled him to amass experience and knowledge of trends in criminal activity and the failings of cyber security practice in the real world over an extended period of time.
Since 2014, he has been a full-time academic, after taking up a part-time position alongside his practice in 2008.
Prior to his role at open University, he was the Program Leader for the Computer Forensics and Security undergraduate programme at Canterbury Christ Church University
Research interests
- Reliability of digital evidence
- Evidential Trust
- Machine learning assisted investigations and the malicious use of Artificial Intelligence
Teaching interests
He has experience and interest in teaching across a wide variety of areas including:
- Digital forensics
- Cyber security
- Malware analysis
- Computer security
- Computer programming
- Ethical hacking
- Academic study and research skills
PhD Examiner work
- Thesis title: The Impact of Game-Based Learning Methods on Cyber Security Behaviour of Ault Population in a Work-based Setting (2025)
- Thesis title: Energy Harvesting from the Human Body for Portable Biosensors and Implantable Biomedical Devices (2024)
External collaborations
External Examiner
- Liverpool John Moores University for BSc programmes: Computer security, Cyber security, Digital forensics, Computer networks (2024-2028)
- University of Lincoln, BSc Computer Science and Dual Award Programmes with University of Wollongong Malaysia KDU College (Penang, Malaysia) (Sep 2023 – Sep 2027)
- Teeside University, MSc Digital Forensics and Cyber Investigation (2020-2024)
- Birmingham City University, BSc (Hons) Cyber Security (2019-2023)
Academic editorial work
-
Academic consultant for BBC production Scam Interceptors (Series 3, 2024)
- Academic reviewer for three Digital Transformation ExpertTracks (FutureLearn, 2022)
-
Member of the Editorial Board for Science and Justice journal (Digital Forensics) (2020-present)
-
Member of the board of referees for Science and Justice journal (2019-present)
-
Member of the board of referees for FSI: Digital Investigation journal (2019-present)
Membership or offices held in learned societies and professional bodies
- BCS Assessor for prospective CEng and CITP candidates (2019-2026)
- Digital Forensics Workgroup Lead for Advisory Group responsible for updating the Forensic Science Subject Benchmark Statement (2022) for QAA
- Invited to author updates of the digital forensics accreditation standards for The Chartered Society of Forensic Sciences (2016)
University of Warwick
Teaching and assessing on their overseas programme MSc Cyber Security and Management at venues in Malaysia (2018, 2019) and Singapore (2019, 2020).
European Cybercrime Training and Education Group (ECTEG)
Special Advisor to Project Agile in Cyprus to update course material for the Network and Internet Investigations and Internet Investigations courses (2019).
