Who uses digital forensics and why?

Forensic science allows us to detect, investigate, and prosecute crime. While forensics makes many people think of fingerprint dusting and reruns of Criminal Minds, there’s a whole other way we can apply forensic science, and that’s online. We all leave digital footprints – whether it’s a file fragment, a cookie, or an activity log –and these footprints are helping businesses track cyber crime like never before.

Here’s why you might use digital forensics, and how to make forensic science work for your business.

What is digital forensics?

Digital forensics is what professionals use to investigate cybercrime. Forensic specialists analyze and report on data stored inside computer networks to:

• Investigate employee violations
• Investigate harassment claims
• Identify possible fraud
• Assess damage after a data breach

These are just some of the ways that digital forensics teams assist companies across the US. Since cybersecurity is a major issue for any business, here’s why you might use digital forensics in your own organization.

Why use digital forensics?

Cybercriminals target every business type – all they need to find is a system vulnerability. Not all cybercrime comes from outsiders, either. Many IT incidents result from an employee’s negligence or their deliberate misuse of hardware, software, networks, and end devices. These incidents can all be analyzed and assessed thanks to digital fingerprints.

So, how, specifically, does digital forensics benefit your organization?

Uses for digital forensics in business

Although there are many ways to employ forensic techniques in an organization, these are the most common ways you’ll benefit from digital forensics.

Internal investigations

Whether you’re unhappy with an employee’s performance or you suspect they’re misusing company property, digital forensics helps you build evidence for a case. For example, you can check to see if an employee has released private data, including potential customers, to competitors, or if they’re sharing trade secrets.

Digital forensics can save you from reputation damage down the line.

Fraud

Fraud, and other white-collar crimes, are an unfortunate reality in the business world. It includes an employee misrepresenting business services, anyone giving out misleading information or stealing money from the company, and identity theft.  

Digital forensic experts can find the perpetrator by tracing their digital fingerprints and online activity.

Damage mitigation

When there’s a data breach, a virus, or a system breakdown, digital forensic specialists can analyze the existing data and identify the cause. Mitigating damage after a system or security failure is time-consuming, but digital forensic specialists know what they’re looking for and where to look for it. They’ll save you time and resources so you can focus on getting back on track.

Data and file recovery

Even with the best intentions, sometimes we accidentally wipe data or lose our backups. The good news is, it’s not the end of the world. If you lose data or files, forensic specialists can recover it for you. They can also locate hidden or corrupted files, or files you’ve accidentally overwritten.  

Digital forensics is extremely helpful in preventing downtime. You can devise a plan so the data loss doesn’t happen again.

Procedural investigations

Whether it’s a sexual harassment claim or a bullying allegation, it’s possible that the perpetrator left traces of their activity online. Digital forensics helps you recover deleted data and identify perpetrators who might be covering their tracks. It also helps you identify malicious allegations.

Digital forensics helps you build a case quickly and effectively, and it allows you to nip cybercrime in the bud before it affects your company’s reputation.