A Guide to Digital Forensics in Cybersecurity | USCSI®

1. A GUIDE TO DIGITAL FORENSICS IN CYBERSECURITY © 2024. United States Cybersecurity Institute (USCSI ). All Rights Reserved. ® uscs institute .org

2. We spend most of our leisure time on the internet and everything we do online leaves an ever- expanding footprint of electronic data. Whether it is online shopping, scrolling through endless social media feeds, transacting on online payment gateways, or just watching our favorite shows, all our actions generate a wealth of information. These huge treasures of data serve as the goldmine for investigations and give rise to an important element in cybersecurity: Digital Forensics. What is Digital Forensics? Digital Forensics refers to the branch of forensic science that specializes in the investigation, analysis, presentation, and recovery of digital evidence. It is similar to traditional forensics, however, instead of just fingerprints and fibers, digital forensics has to deal with broader elements including all the electronic footprints such as deleted files, browsing history, emails, and even hidden partitions on a hard drive. Use of digital forensics is growing and the digital forensics market is exploding. 18.2 DIGITAL FORENSICS MARKET GLOBAL FORECAST TO 2028 (USD BILLION) 12.9 9.9 8.7 CAGR OF 12.9% The global digital forensics market is expected to be worth USD 18.2 Billion by 2028, growing at a CAGR of 12.9% during the forecast period. 2022 2023 2028 North America Europe Asia Pacific Middle East & Africa Latin America Source: MarketsandMarkets © 2024. United States Cybersecurity Institute (USCSI ). All Rights Reserved. ® uscs institute .org

3. Why is Digital Forensics a necessary element in Cybersecurity? The importance of digital forensics cannot be neglected in the world of cybersecurity. Every cybersecurity professional must be aware of various digital forensics techniques to contribute their part in investigations. Here are a few reasons why it is important: TO UPHOLD THE LAW: As per a report by Cybersecurity Ventures, global cybercrime costs are estimated to reach around $10.5 trillion forensics plays an important role in investing in such crimes that lead to such huge losses. It helps to investigate crimes and provide law enforcement with the necessary evidence needed for prosecution. annually by 2025. And digital CIVIL LITIGATION: Digital evidence is also very important in civil dispute resolutions. For example, it can help to recover deleted emails or documents that might be crucial for a case. CORPORATE SECURITY: According to a 2023 IBM Security Report, the average cost of a data breach is So, the incident response teams within $4.35 million. organizations use these digital forensics techniques to investigate security breaches, identify the source of crime, and minimize damage. © 2024. United States Cybersecurity Institute (USCSI ). All Rights Reserved. ® uscs institute .org

4. Who Uses Digital Forensics? Now, here is a brief overview of professionals and entities who actually use digital forensics: LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES Professionals such as police, detectives, and other law enforcement personnel use digital forensics to investigate crimes, be it normal phishing attacks, to heinous cyberattacks, or frauds, and thefts. INCIDENT RESPONSE TEAMS Organizations have dedicated teams who are responsible of responding to various kinds of security incidents within the organization. these dedicated teams also consist of digital forensics experts who can contribute their cybersecurity skills to investigate the nature of the breach and take necessary actions. PRIVATE INVESTIGATORS Often there are many private investigators who also use digital forensics to identify fraud or any other civil matters. Types of Digital Evidence Here are two broadly classified categories of digital evidence: VOLATILE DATA: It refers to the type of data that exists only in the temporary memory i.e. RAM of a device and this is prone to loss once the device is powered off. Examples: Browsing history, login credentials, running processes, applications in use, connected networks, etc. NON-VOLATILE DATA: These refer to the type of data that are stored permanently on the device's storage devices like hard disks, SSDs, flash drives, etc. Examples: Emails, documents, photos, videos. © 2024. United States Cybersecurity Institute (USCSI ). All Rights Reserved. ® uscs institute .org

5. Types of Digital Forensics What once started out as a single branch of forensics is now divided into several parts. Here are some major types of digital forensics: ELECTRONIC DISCOVERY It means analysis, processing, and preservation of digital data. COMPUTER FORENSICS Focuses on recovery and analysis of data including deleted files, browsing history, application activity, and more from computing devices. MOBILE DEVICE FORENSICS Deals with extracting evidence like call logs, text messages, social media activity, etc. from mobile devices NETWORK FORENSICS Investigates network traffic and helps to identify security breaches, intrusions, by analyzing network logs, capturing packets of data, and identifying unauthorized access. DATABASE FORENSICS Database are goldmines of information and database forensics is used to recover and analyze data from databases. WEB FORENSICS Web forensics is used to analyze website content, server logs, and user activity which is particularly helpful in investigating online crimes and finding source of malicious content. MEMORY FORENSICS Memory forensics is involved with volatile data and helps reveal information related to temporary files, running processes, and passwords that are difficult to recover from storage devices. CLOUD FORENSICS Focuses on gathering and analyzing digital evidence stored in cloud platforms. EMAIL FORENSICS This branch of digital forensics is focused on recovering deleted emails, analyzing email contents to identify potential phishing attacks. MALWARE FORENSICS It involves identifying and analyzing malicious software. This helps to identify source of cyberattacks and develop mitigation strategies. © 2024. United States Cybersecurity Institute (USCSI ). All Rights Reserved. ® uscs institute .org

6. Digital Forensics Process The entire digital forensics process consists of 5 major steps: 1 IDENTIFICATION: Identifying digital devices that can possibly contain the relevant evidence. 2 ACQUISITION: Creating a copy of data to avoid tampering or altering of original evidence 3 ANALYSIS: Analyzing the copied data to identify and extract necessary information. 4 REPORTING: Creating a detailed report mentioning the investigation process & findings. 5 PRESENTATION Finally, presenting the findings in court for legal proceedings and ensuring they are admissible. Digital Forensics Tools OSFORENSIC THE FTK HEX EDITOR NEO BULK SLEUTHKIT IMAGER EXTRACTOR © 2024. United States Cybersecurity Institute (USCSI ). All Rights Reserved. ® uscs institute .org

7. Advantages of Digital Forensics Digital forensics offers several advantages to organizations in case of security incidents: IDENTIFY HIDDEN EVIDENCE: Digital evidence is important in all critical situations of security incidents and digital forensics helps to identify such digital evidence where physical evidence is scantily available. PROVIDES PROPER TIMELINES AND CONTEXT: It also helps to reconstruct a timeline of events that provides proper context for the investigation process BUILDS STRONGER CASE: Digital evidence can be used to strengthen case and therefore digital forensics makes the prosecution more likely. Disadvantages of Digital Forensics However, digital forensics comes with certain limitations or disadvantages as well: DATA VOLATILITY: Data is volatile and can be lost if it is not acquired quickly and appropriately DATA ENCRYPTION: It becomes difficult to access and analyze the encrypted data without proper decryption keys. LEGAL CHALLENGES: Sometimes the admissibility of digital evidence in the court is questionable as the digital evidence is complex and requires adherence to strict legal procedures. Challenges for Effective Implementation of Digital Forensics The use and implementation of digital forensics constantly face these unforeseen challenges: EVOLVING TECHNOLOGIES As the technology progresses, we see new devices, cloud storage solutions, and encryption methods constantly emerging that requires quick adaptation of investigation techniques. © 2024. United States Cybersecurity Institute (USCSI ). All Rights Reserved. ® uscs institute .org

8. DATA VOLUME The rate at which data is generated today is enormous. According to IDC, 180 zettabytes of data is expected to generate annually by 2025. This ever-increasing volume of data is making it difficult for digital forensics experts to identify and analyze relevant evidence. CROSS-BORDER INVESTIGATIONS The rate at which data is generated today is enormous. According to IDC, 180 zettabytes of data is expected to generate annually by 2025. This ever-increasing volume of data is making it difficult for digital forensics experts to identify and analyze relevant evidence. Career in Digital Forensics In today's highly interconnected world, we heavily rely on digital technology. To protect this digital space, the demand for skilled cybersecurity professionals including digital forensics experts is on the rise. Here's an insight into this exciting cybersecurity career path: COMPUTER FORENSICS INVESTIGATOR INCIDENTRE SPONSE ANALYST: DIGITAL FORENSICS ANALYSTS: They are responsible for analyzing and interpreting digital evidence and extracting necessary information for investigations. They analyze digital evidence from computers and other devices for law enforcement agencies Respond promptly to security breaches within an organization using digital forensics to identify the source or data/security breach & also implement security measures E-DISCOVERY SPECIALIST: CYBERSECURITY ANALYSTS: They have to identify, collect, and produce the electronically stored information (ESI) for legal proceedings. They use digital forensics skills to investigate cyberattacks and identify vulnerabilities within systems, networks, and devices. © 2024. United States Cybersecurity Institute (USCSI ). All Rights Reserved. ® uscs institute .org

9. Skills Needed to become a digital forensics expert TECHNICAL SKILLS ANALYTICAL SKILLS PROBLEM SOLVING SKILLS COMMUNICATION SKILLS WRITING SKILLS Roadmap to a career in Digital Forensics Here's a brief roadmap to how you can easily get into the career of a digital forensics in cybersecurity. EDUCATION · Bachelor's degree in computer science, information technology, cybersecurity ·M aster's degree in digital forensics or cybersecurity GAIN NECESSARY CYBERSECURITY SKILLS (as mentioned above) VALIDATE YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERTISE WITH TOP CYBERSECURITY CERTIFICATIONS LIKE: GAIN PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE AND BUILD A STRONG PORTFOLIO OF REAL-WORLD PROJECTS NETWORK AND JOB HUNT TO MAXIMIZE YOUR CHANCES OF GETTING EMPLOYED. © 2024. United States Cybersecurity Institute (USCSI ). All Rights Reserved. ® uscs institute .org

10. Conclusion Digital forensics plays an important role in maintaining law and protecting businesses as it helps to reveal the truth as it is. With the evolution of technology, and increased rate in cybercrimes, we can expect rapid growth in demand for skilled and certified digital forensics experts. So, if you are passionate about this career path, learn the necessary skills, get certified, and ace this profession. © 2024. United States Cybersecurity Institute (USCSI ). All Rights Reserved. ® uscs institute .org

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