AI vs. AI: The New Digital Warfare | Ft. Lt. Col. (Dr.) Santosh Khadsare (Retd.) | EP21

Colonel Santosh Khadsare has spent close to three decades in digital forensics, first in the Indian Army and now in the corporate world. In this episode he explains how cybercrime actually works, what to do the moment you realize you've been scammed, and why he believes cyber defense of a nation starts with one person: you. We cover online scams and the "golden hour" after a fraud, why deleted data rarely disappears, a real case cracked open by two calculator apps, deepfakes and AI in investigations, and whether India needs to regulate its forensic experts the way it regulates doctors and lawyers. This episode also marks the 10th year of the Colonel's publication, Digital Forensics (4N6), and its special edition themed "AI vs AI, For Forensics," which he previews here (01:15:53). More at https://4n6.org.in. Chapters 00:00 Cold open 01:08 Meet Colonel Santosh Khadsare 02:27 What is cyber forensics? From bloodstains to digital traces 04:10 Is your laptop or phone actual evidence? 06:12 Digital forensics vs cyber forensics 09:19 A crime with no borders: the new crime scene 09:59 Online scams, phishing and UPI fraud 11:23 The "golden hour" after a scam 13:25 What to do first: bank, evidence, 1930, cybercrime.gov.in 15:09 Mule accounts and how money disappears 18:23 "Every crime has a clientele": digital arrest and targeted scams 19:41 SIM swapping and fake kidnapping calls 21:44 Account compromise and credential theft 25:25 A real case: the two calculator apps 29:13 Why forensics needs patience, not speed 30:31 Myths from the movies 31:34 Who is really an "expert"? The court decides 33:24 Should India regulate forensic experts? (BSA 2023) 41:21 Your phone as a digital twin 44:20 How to protect your digital life 47:09 What is DFIR? 50:31 The fire analogy: incident response 52:12 Imaging, cloning and hashing explained 55:22 When investigations fail 58:08 From the Army to cyber forensics 01:03:07 Cyber defense of India 01:05:14 Why he started a digital forensics publication 01:10:52 Do you need to be an engineer? Careers in forensics 01:13:57 The mindset: passion and patience 01:15:53 AI vs AI in forensics 01:18:29 Closing takeaways for students Watch the full conversation, and share it with someone who needs to know how to protect their digital life. Subscribe to channel:    / @thewmhstudios   Websites: https://cybercrime.gov.in https://4n6.org.in #digitalforensics #cyberforensics #DFIR #cybercrime #1930 #deepfake #digitalarrest #incidentresponse #cyberdefense #thewmhstudios #wemakeheroes