Kevin V. Watson is a digital forensics, incident response, and AI assurance practitioner whose work is guided by a central question: What can the evidence reliably support?
In his current public-sector role, Watson advises executive, legal, human resources, security, and risk leaders on matters involving digital evidence, cybersecurity incidents, internal investigations, AI assurance, and complex questions of fact. His work extends beyond acquiring and examining digital artifacts to the more difficult problem of interpretation: determining where data is reliable, where assumptions fail, and whether a conclusion can withstand technical, legal, and organizational scrutiny.
AI assurance and technical practice
AI assurance is a significant part of Watson’s current public-sector work. He approaches AI governance as a practical assurance discipline in which systems are tested, limitations are documented, accountability remains human, and claims about performance are subjected to evidence.
That perspective is informed by direct technical practice. He has built and deployed local AI inference environments, retrieval-augmented generation systems, machine-learning models, and analytical tools that examine how AI can support investigations and evidence analysis without displacing professional judgment.
From technology leadership to investigations
Before entering digital forensics and incident response, Watson spent more than a decade in information technology and technology leadership. He served as Director of Information Technology at Grove Broadcasting, home of IRIE FM in Jamaica.
He later joined the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), where he rose to the rank of Sergeant. In a senior operational role within the Anti-Lottery Scam Unit in western Jamaica, he led and coordinated numerous investigations and operations targeting organized fraud and cyber-enabled crime. He also developed intelligence capabilities and worked with Jamaican and international law-enforcement and prosecutorial partners.
His work included collaboration with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Postal Inspection Service, and the United States Attorney’s Office on a major transnational lottery-scam prosecution involving more than 30 defendants, including more than 10 extradited from Jamaica. Watson testified as an expert witness in the federal trial. Both the United States Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation record his testimony, and the Caribbean Policy Research Institute later cited him as a primary source on the scam’s methods and the enforcement response. These sources are catalogued in the public record.
He also developed a specialized investigative-intelligence platform supporting intelligence management, exhibit handling, and court-bound case files. Senior MOCA leadership formally commended his professionalism and dedication in combating organized fraud.
Separately, he led a school- and community-focused lottery-scam prevention campaign, extending the unit’s work beyond enforcement into prevention.
Canada and current work
After migrating to Canada in 2018, Watson continued in fraud investigation and financial-crime prevention. At Scotiabank, he held leadership responsibilities in fraud management before serving as a Senior Digital Forensic Investigator. He was recognized as his fraud-management team’s Most Valuable Player and later received Scotiabank’s Best of the Best award for leadership. He subsequently moved into public-sector digital forensics, incident response, advisory work, and AI assurance. His experience across Jamaica and Canada informs an approach grounded in law enforcement, technology leadership, financial crime, digital evidence, public accountability, and international cooperation.
Education and credentials
Watson holds an Executive Master of Business Administration (EMBA) and an undergraduate degree in Management Information Systems from the University of the Commonwealth Caribbean (UCC). He also holds an Ontario College Graduate Certificate in Project Management from Durham College and a postgraduate diploma in cybersecurity from Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). He is completing a Master of Interdisciplinary Artificial Intelligence at the University of Ottawa.
He has earned the GIAC Certified Forensic Examiner (GCFE), Magnet Certified Forensics Examiner (MCFE), and EnCase Certified Examiner (EnCE) credentials.
Research and public writing
Alongside his professional work, Watson publishes research and analysis on AI assurance, digital evidence, investigative method, and technology risk. He also produces Watson’s World, a public-education platform examining Jamaican and Caribbean history, crime, justice, politics, identity, and the forces that have shaped the region.
A personal note
I have worked in technology, policing, financial crime, digital forensics, and public service across Jamaica and Canada. The settings have changed, but the central question has remained the same: What does the evidence establish, and where does its authority end?
I value careful work, plain language, and conclusions that can withstand scrutiny. I write and publish because important methods should be open to examination, not protected by assertion.
Establish what is known. Distinguish observation from inference. Examine competing explanations. Communicate the story accurately.