Cellebrite

Aug 18, 2025

August 18, 2025 co-authored by Jared Barnhart, Head of Customer Advocacy, Cellebrite Every time the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children ( NCMEC ) receives a report to its CyberTipline , it’s often a child in need of help. In 2024, NCMEC received more than 22 million reports to its CyberTipline . And while this number was lower when compared to 2023, there was a change in reporting, which includes multiple reports of the same image, such as viral content, getting bundled into a single tip. NCMEC warns, “the numbers are down not because the crimes have stopped, but because some platforms aren’t reporting as they should. Factors include a decrease in submissions from some electronic service providers and the growing use of end-to-end encryption, which can limit what platforms are able to detect and report.” This drop in reporting is especially concerning, since the  REPORT Act , which is supposed to increase reports, not reduce them, expanded mandatory reporting in 2024 to include two additional types of child sexual exploitation: online enticement and child sex trafficking. In fact, NCMEC has seen an increase in child sex trafficking reports (up 55% from 2023), which may be an early result of these latest additions to the REPORT Act. How Generative AI is Being Exploited Particularly troubling is the rapid rise in CyberTipline reports involving  Generative AI Technology  (GAI), which increased 1,325% in 2024. NCMEC reports that “GAI technology enables the creation of fake imagery, including synthetic media, digital forgery and nude images of children, through tools like “nudify” apps. NCMEC writes, “These manipulative creations can cause tremendous harm to children, including harassment, future exploitation, fear, shame and emotional distress. Even when exploitative images are entirely fabricated, the harm to children and their families is very real.” Sextortion cases are also on the rise, with NCMEC receiving nearly 100 reports of financial  sextortion  per day in the last year. GAI is also being exploited here as offenders use “explicit AI-generated imagery to coerce children into providing additional content or money, according to NCMEC data. Some of these cases lead to tragic outcomes, with NCMEC noting that at least 36 teenage boys have taken their lives since 2021 because they were victimized by sextortion. Those numbers are no doubt higher. A New Way to Expedite Investigations Cellebrite recently announced an expansion of its ongoing relationship with NCMEC aimed at expediting investigations involving crimes against children. By integrating NCMEC’s CyberTipline hash value list within Cellebrite Inseyets , specifically our decoding engine Physical Analyzer, examiners working these cases are finally able to immediately pinpoint known child sexual abuse material (CSAM) files already hashed by NCMEC, which accelerates time to evidence and justice for victims and survivors of abuse. Key Benefits Before this key integration, digital forensic examiners and investigators worldwide were forced to spend hours reviewing data (NCMEC’s hash value list alone contains approximately 10-million files) to locate CSAM on suspected offenders’ devices. Now, with a check of a box, they can match CSAM files instantly – and redact those files so they don’t have to view them. This provides investigators with: The evidence they need to arrest and prosecute offenders An added measure of mental health protection by limiting law enforcement’s exposure to explicit material The Experts Weigh in on the Positive Impact “This integration represents a critical leap forward in our efforts to protect children and hold offenders accountable,” said John Shehan, Senior Vice President, Exploited Children Division & International Engagement at NCMEC. “We’re proud to strengthen our nine-year partnership with Cellebrite in the fight to end online child exploitation.” “Any tool that speeds up time to evidence is critical for our teams,” said Ben Morrison, the Washington Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force Commander. “Digital evidence is the holy grail in ICAC investigations, and this integration means getting to more cases and protecting more kids.” “Our mission is in lock step with NCMEC, and it’s an honor to partner with them and help the heroes working these cases on the front lines,” said David Gee, Cellebrite’s chief marketing officer. “This integration will be a game changer and will undoubtedly save and prevent our most vulnerable from the most heinous crimes.” Putting Kids First The integration of NCMEC’s CyberTipline hash value list within Cellebrite Inseyets digital forensics software suite is part of Cellebrite’s “Operation Find Them All” (OFTA) initiative—a landmark program that is helping public-safety agencies use technology to protect children. Since launching in January 2024, OFTA has assisted in numerous investigations that have helped rescue hundreds of victims and resulted in the arrests of dozens of perpetrators. OFTA is playing an important, active, ongoing role in helping to further investigations where NCMEC is assisting public-safety agencies in cases involving missing and endangered children. By working with strategic partners like NCMEC, The Exodus Road and Raven , Cellebrite is helping to stem the tide of crimes against children and bring those who harm them to justice. About the Author Heather Barnhart is the Senior Director of Forensic Research at Cellebrite and SANS Institute fellow. She advises on strategic digital intelligence operations and educates both the public and industry professionals on the latest challenges in the space and how Cellebrite helps address them. For more than 23 years, Heather has worked on high-profile cases, investigating everything from child exploitation to Osama Bin Laden’s digital media. She has helped law enforcement, eDiscovery firms and the federal government extract and manually decode artifacts used in solving investigations around the world. Jared Barnhart is the Head of Customer Advocacy at  Cellebrite , a global leader in premier Digital Investigative solutions for the public and private sectors. A former detective and mobile forensics engineer, Jared is highly specialized in digital forensics, regularly training law enforcement and lending his expertise to help them solve cases and accelerate justice.