What is Digital Forensics? Phases of Digital Forensics in Cybersecurity

What is Digital Forensics? Phases of Digital Forensics in Cybersecurity

Digital forensic science, a specialized field within forensic science, is the process of recovering and investigating material from digital devices to uncover evidence of cybercrime. While the term was initially synonymous with computer forensics, its scope has broadened to include all devices capable of storing digital data.

Although the first computer crime was reported in 1978, followed by early legislative efforts, digital forensics didn’t become a recognized term until the 1990s, with comprehensive national policies only emerging in the early 21st century. Today, it is a critical process involving the identification, preservation, analysis, and documentation of digital evidence for legal proceedings.

How Well Do You Know Digital Forensics?

Steps of Digital Forensics

In order for digital evidence to be accepted in a court of law, it must be handled in a very specific way so that there is no opportunity for cyber criminals to tamper with the evidence.

1. Identification

First, find the evidence, noting where it is stored.

2. Preservation

Next, isolate, secure, and preserve the data. This includes preventing people from possibly tampering with the evidence.

3. Analysis

Next, reconstruct fragments of data and draw conclusions based on the evidence found.

4. Documentation

Following that, create a record of all the data to recreate the crime scene.

5. Presentation

Lastly, summarize and draw a conclusion.

When Is Digital Forensics Used in a Business Setting?

For businesses, Digital Forensics is an important part of the Incident Response process. They act as virtual detectives, tracing an attacker’s every move to determine how a breach occurred and what data was compromised. They investigate how the intruders moved through the network, and what they did—whether they stole data or installed malicious software. Beyond just tracing the attack, a key part of their job is to recover deleted, damaged, or manipulated data, such as documents, photos, and emails, from various storage devices like hard drives and flash drives, to be used as evidence.

What Are Digital Forensics Tools?

While live analysis was a common practice in the past, modern digital forensics has evolved to use a variety of specialized tools to efficiently manage the massive amounts of data on today’s devices. These tools are broadly categorized into open-source software, commercial software, and specialized hardware tools. This combination allows investigators to examine digital media thoroughly without altering or corrupting the original evidence.

Digital Forensics Job Profiles

The role of a forensic computer analyst is to investigate criminal incidents and data breaches. These forensic analysts often work for the police, law enforcement agencies, government, private, or other forensic companies. They use specialized tools and techniques to retrieve, analyze, and store data linked to criminal activity like a breach, fraud, network intrusions, illegal usage, unauthorized access, or terrorist communication.

Skills Required to Become a Digital Forensic Investigator

Employers look for certified forensic investigators with key digital forensic skills, including: are as follows:

• Defeating anti-forensic techniques

• Understanding hard disks and file systems

• Operating system forensics

• Cloud forensic in a cloud environment

• Investigating email crimes

• Mobile device forensics

The Computer Hacking and Forensic Investigator (CHFI) certification is a leading training program for aspiring digital forensic investigators. If you are a cybersecurity enthusiast with a background in information technology, contact us today to learn more.

EC-Council Cyber Security Exchange. (n.d.). What is digital forensics? EC-Council. August 21, 2025, from https://www.eccouncil.org/cybersecurity-exchange/computer-forensics/what-is-digital-forensics/