Covert Cyber Investigator Well-Being With Carol Brooks
From Forensic Focus by Forensic Focus: Digital Forensics, Incident Response, DFIR
January 15, 2026 · 1h 2m
About this episode
Carol Brooks discusses her PhD research on the psychological factors affecting covert cyber investigators' resilience and decision-making.
📝 Take The Surveys An Exploratory Study of Covert Cyber Investigators and the Psychological Factors Impacting on Personal Resilience and Investigative Decision-Making https://hud.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3gwyXAR281cY12C Forensic Focus International Well-Being Study https://www.forensicfocus.com/survey Carol Brooks, a cyber and organisational psychologist and leadership consultant, joins the Forensic Focus Podcast to discuss her PhD research into covert cyber investigators and the psychological factors that shape their resilience and investigative decision-making. She explains what it really means to work "covertly" online and why inconsistent job titles across law enforcement, cybersecurity and the private sector make it difficult even to define the workforce she is studying. The conversation explores the significant challenges involved in recruiting participants — from suspicion and cultural barriers to the difficulties of engaging freelancers and small teams — and highlights why anonymity and ethical oversight are critical to building trust. It also examines the importance of bridging the gap between academia and industry if research is to have real-world impact, before…
People in this episode
Guest: Carol Brooks
Topics covered
- covert cyber investigations
- psychological factors
- resilience
- investigative decision-making
- academic and industry collaboration
- mental health
Keywords
- Digital Forensics
- DFIR
- CyberPsychology
- Investigator Wellbeing
- Covert Investigations
- mental health
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Forensic Focus, Qualtrics, Forensic Focus International
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