From November 19 to 20, 2024, the First International Digital Forensics Challenge (IDFC) was held in Hong Kong, organized by the School of Computing and Data Science at the University of Hong Kong, in collaboration with the Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau (CSTCB) of the Hong Kong Police Force, the Information Security and Forensics Society (ISFS), and Dataport Technology Limited. There were a total of 10 teams from various countries and regions including Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, Thailand, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, as well as local organizations, including the Hong Kong Immigration Department (ImmD), Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department (C&ED), and the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), participating in the Challenge.

The Challenge, designed as a team event, featured scenarios crafted by experts from the Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau of the Hong Kong Police Force, requiring participants to conduct digital forensics investigation and forensic examination on simulated real-world cases within a set time period. Each participating team used various professional digital forensic tools to conduct an in-depth examination and investigation of the digital images from mobile phones, computers, and other electronic devices in the simulated case, to uncover the truth. The competition was intense with the top rankings shown on the leaderboard constantly shuffling, creating dramatic highlights and moments. After the fierce competition, the top three positions were the ICAC team from the Independent Commission Against Corruption of the HKSAR, the 10VER3 team from the South Korean National Police Agency, and the Cyber Task Force team from Cambodia.

Concurrently with the Challenge, the Digital Forensics Seminar was held, focusing on discussions about leveraging digital forensics to address the growing challenges of cybercrime. Representatives from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), INTERPOL Global Complex for Innovation (IGCI), and Singapore's Home Team Science and Technology Agency (HTX) closely observed the Challenge and actively participated in the knowledge exchanges.