Why is digital forensics important in cyber security?
In today’s world, all important and necessary information of individuals, organizations, and even governments is stored on computers, the internet, or mobile phones. Although it is easy to store or save information digitally, it also involves risks. Many people, like cyber criminals, hackers, or even insiders, might try to steal, misuse, or damage your important data. Whenever a cyber attack happens, it is necessary to know what happened, who the criminal was, and how these cyber attacks can be stopped. This is where Digital Forensics plays an important role.
Digital forensics is an important part of cyber security that focuses on investigating and analyzing digital devices to find out what happened during a cyber crime. It is a kind of detective work. Although here you are not finding evidence or clues at the crime scene but the investigators look for digital clues like clues in computers, mobile phones, the internet, or online platforms.
Reasons Why Digital Forensics is Important in Cyber Security
Here are the following reasons are provided why digital forensics is important in cybersecurity:
1. Helps in Finding Out What Happened
One of the main and important tasks of Digital Forensics is to check or find out what happened during a cyber crime incident.
For example, if we say a company’s system got hacked, the experts would look for:
- How did the hacker get in?
- What data was stolen or damaged?
- When did the attack happen?
- What were the changes made to the system?
With the help of all of this information, the organization can easily understand the full impact of the damage and start fixing it.
2. Helps in Finding the Criminal
Digital Forensics helps in finding the clue that leads to the attacker. These clues or evidence might include:
- IP Addresses used during the crime
- Usernames or passwords
- Logs that show suspicious activity
- The email that was sent with malware
Although hackers try their best to hide their identity, forensic experts may find digital footprints that lead their way to the criminal or the attacker. These clues can be used by the police to catch and charge the criminals for the crime they have committed.
3. Protects Enterprises From Future Attacks
Once the digital forensics finds out the cause of cyber attacks, they help the enterprises or organizations to find out their weak spots.
For Example, the attack may have happened because of the following reasons:
- Weak Password
- Old software has less security
- When an employee clicks on a phishing email and many more.
By understanding what went wrong, the organization can take necessary steps or precautions to improve its security like updating systems, training staff, and many more. This helps in preventing similar cyber attacks on an organization.
4. Helps in Legal Cases
When a cybercrime goes to court, it is necessary to show the evidence, which includes the following:
- Records of emails
- Copies of the files that were deleted or removed
- Logs from the servers or computers
Digital Forensic experts basically find out the evidence, preserve or maintain it, and show it in court in a correct way, so that it can be used legally. Digital Forensics ensures that everything is done legally and professionally.
5. Provides Support to Incident Response Teams
Time plays a very necessary role in a cyber attack. The more time the attacker stays in the system, the more damage is done. Digital Forensics quickly understands the situation and takes action against it, such as:
- Removing the hacker
- Recovering the damaged, deleted, or stolen data
- Blocking future access for the hackers.
6. Builds and Maintains Trust
There is a lot of chance that a company can lose its reputation during a cyber attack. However, for handling the situation properly, the company must take the help of digital forensic experts. Experts like CyberSics Cyber Security Services can help you a lot.
7. Useful in Many Places
Digital forensics is not only used in hacking places. It can also be used for:
- Employee investigations
- Online threats or harassment
- Fraud cases and many more.
Challenges In Digital Forensics for Cyber Security
Digital forensic plays a vital role in cyber security, but also comes with multiple challenges that are faced by the forensic experts. The following are the challenges faced by them:
- Modern systems store large amounts of data. Therefore, searching through all the files takes a lot of effort.
- Many devices and files are protected with passwords. However, without the right credentials, accessing files is difficult or impossible.
- Cyber criminals often use tools for covering their tracks, such as data wiping software and many more. These tricks make it harder for investigators to find the evidence or proof.
- Multiple tools or techniques are used in multiple cases. Not all tools are accepted in court.
- Cyber crime often crosses borders as different countries have different laws on data privacy, collection of evidence, and digital rights. Getting permission can consume a lot of time.
- Rapidly changing technology is also a challenge faced by investigators.
- Digital evidence is very fragile and can be deleted or changed very easily. Therefore, the investigators have to do an investigation very quickly.
- There are not enough trained digital forensic professionals. Therefore, it slows down the investigation process.
- Data saved in the cloud can be spread across many locations and it is hard to maintain the data quickly. There are chances that the cloud service provider might not store proper logs.
Conclusion
Digital Forensics is a powerful tool you can use against a cyber attack. It helps you to find out what happened, who the attacker is, and how to stop it from happening again. It helps in protecting organizations from digital threats. As cyber crime will grow, the importance of digital forensics will also grow. Whenever we perform a cyber attack investigation, we should take the help of the investigators or professionals, as trying to fix a cyber attack can result in more damage and manipulation of the data.
Leave a Reply