Navid Sobbi is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of NSI Global. He is an expert across digital forensics, technical surveillance countermeasures (TSCM) and geopolitical risk intelligence. With more than 24 years of experience, he founded the firm — originally National Surveillance and Intelligence — in 2004. He holds degrees in law, intelligence and international security, and is a court-recognised expert witness whose digital forensic evidence has been considered by Australian state and federal courts, including the Supreme Court of New South Wales, the NSW Court of Appeal, the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal, the Federal Court of Australia and the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia.
Forensics · TSCM · Geopolitical Risk · Since 2002
Fields of Expertise
- Digital Forensics – Mobile device and computer forensics, electronic discovery, cellular tower and location analysis; court-recognised expert witness.
- Counterintelligence & TSCM – Technical surveillance countermeasures, counterespionage and insider-threat detection.
- Intelligence & Geopolitical Risk – Geopolitical risk analysis, threat and travel intelligence, and strategic risk advisory.
When to engage NSI Global
- An electronic record or device requires forensic interpretation.
- A legal team needs a technical report reviewed or an expert question scoped.
- An organisation faces suspected surveillance or information compromise.
What the engagement provides
When making an enquiry, identify the technical question, the evidence available and any reporting or court deadline. NSI will assess the scope and whether the proposed work falls within the relevant practitioner’s expertise.
Qualifications
- Bachelor of Laws (LLB) – Charles Darwin University
- Master of International Security and Counterterrorism (majoring in Digital Forensics) – Macquarie University
- Master of Intelligence – Macquarie University
- Diploma of Security Risk Management, Government Fraud Control and Investigative Services – Australian Security Academy
Experience
Navid founded NSI Global in 2004 and has led it since as CEO. He remains personally active across all three of his fields — as the firm’s lead digital forensic examiner, as a TSCM and counterintelligence practitioner, and as a geopolitical and intelligence risk analyst — and leads every corporate and government engagement. His practice spans counterintelligence and TSCM, digital forensics and incident response, geopolitical and travel intelligence, risk advisory, and enhanced due diligence. Over more than two decades he has conducted forensic examinations and technical surveillance work for government agencies, law enforcement, law firms, corporations and private clients across Australia and internationally.
Expert Evidence and Court Record
Navid prepares expert forensic reports and gives expert evidence in Australian proceedings. His reports set out the evidence examined, the methodology applied, the limitations encountered, the findings reached and the basis for any opinions expressed — so that his work can be independently scrutinised and, where required, tested under cross-examination.
In Peek v Wheatley [2025] NSWSC 554 and the subsequent appeal, Wheatley v Peek [2025] NSWCA 265 (Supreme Court of NSW; NSW Court of Appeal), Navid acted as a joint court-appointed digital forensic expert examining an iPhone. The appeal records that his evidence was not disputed and summarises findings about the note and available device data, including limitations on what edits could be determined. The courts decided the legal issues on the evidence as a whole.
His broader forensic evidence has been considered across Australian courts, including:
Tan v Commissioner of the NSW Police [2012] NSWSC 1580 (Supreme Court of NSW). Navid forensically extracted mobile-phone data using Cellebrite UFED technology; his affidavit evidence and explanation of the extraction, decoding and reporting process informed the Court’s analysis of the distinction between raw digital evidence and customised forensic reports for the purposes of legal professional privilege. The matter also documents that NSI was conducting Cellebrite-based mobile forensic examinations as early as 2012.
Zou v Superway Pty Ltd [2021] FedCFamC2G 144 (Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia). Navid provided digital forensic affidavit evidence concerning the forensic authentication of photographs, videos and electronic messages.
Raine v Islam [2026] FCA 203 (Federal Court of Australia). Navid provided expert digital forensic evidence on the transmission and delivery path of emails relevant to substituted service of a creditor’s petition; the Court relied on his evidence in finding the email had been transmitted to the server hosting the recipient’s address, while recognising his appropriately stated limitation that the available information did not establish whether it entered the individual mailbox or was read.
His forensic evidence has also been considered by the New South Wales Court of Criminal Appeal — including in matters concerning the extraction of mobile-phone messaging data and the forensic accessibility of a secured device — where his work was accepted without adverse finding. (Habambo v The King [2023] NSWCCA 328; Mehajer v The King [2024] NSWCCA 226.)
Together these matters reflect a forensic evidentiary record spanning from 2012 to 2026, across the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, Court of Criminal Appeal, Federal Court and Federal Circuit and Family Court — in civil, criminal and family jurisdictions.
Published Work
Navid co-authored the chapter “Cyber Crime Applications” in Applications in Intelligence-Led Policing: Where Theory Meets Reality (2018; ISBN 9781720476542). The book examines the practical application of intelligence-led policing across Australia, Europe and North America, and the role of intelligence analysis in preventative policing.
Media Appearances & Commentary
Navid is a regular media commentator on intelligence, counterespionage, surveillance and digital forensics. Selected appearances:
- Asia Pacific Security Magazine — “Bug Sweeping with Navid Sobbi of National Surveillance and Intelligence” (26 September 2011).
- The Sydney Morning Herald — “The machine that can crack almost any phone” (18 December 2014).
- 9News / Nine — “Police reveal how they found missing Canberra teen” (16 September 2015).
- The Canberra Times — “Kathleen Bautista’s phone: how police were able to find the missing teenager.” (17 June 2019)
- Nine — “Australian phones could be at risk if Apple is forced to comply with a US court ruling” (February 2016).
- 7NEWS Sydney — “NSW Government begins counter-surveillance sweeps of ministerial offices” (video). (April 2020)
- Xinhua — “Petwrap ransomware virus has no “kill switch” or “weaknesses”: Australian Expert” (June 2017).
- Broadcast and commentary have also included 60 Minutes, Today Tonight, A Current Affair, ABC Radio and Sky Business News.
Consumer and lifestyle press:
- Domain — “Is your child’s teddy bear spying on you?” (16 October 2017).
- The Daily Telegraph — “Eastern and north shore suburb parents spend thousands to track their kids.” (9 October 2018)
- Daily Mail — “Rich parents in Sydney paying private investigators thousands to track teenage kids.” (9 October 2018)
Industry / product:
- BlackBerry SecuSUITE — secure communications partner network expansion in Asia-Pacific (2022), with NSI Global as a regional partner; reported across Channel Life, Cyber Daily, Investing News and CIO SEA (Economic Times). (16 November 2022)
Professional Memberships & Affiliations
- International Association of Law Enforcement Intelligence Analysts (IALEIA) — and founding member of the IALEIA Australian Chapter
- Association of International Risk Intelligence Professionals (AIRIP)
- Associate Member, Law Society of New South Wales
- Australian Institute of Professional Investigators (AIPI)
Verify Our Credentials
We publish the sources so our claims can be independently checked:
- Published judgments referring to Navid’s forensic work (AustLII / NSW Caselaw):
- Co-authored chapter on Cyber Crime Applications in: Applications in Intelligence-Led Policing (ISBN 9781720476542)
- NSI Global Counter Intelligence Operations Pty Limited: ABN 87 643 802 742
- LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/navidsobbi