June 5, 2025Digital forensics is about investigating incidents and finding evidence in cyberspace. Simply put, it’s cyber criminology. Its main goal is to identify violations and help bring those responsible to justice.
Sometimes, it can even help companies recover funds lost during an attack.
Who are forensic experts and where do they work?
Forensic analysts can be found everywhere — in banks, IT corporations, and telecom companies, for example. There, they look for vulnerabilities, investigate breaches, and sometimes even act as mentors, training local staff to defend against attacks.
That’s the case with in-house specialists.
Companies also hire independent external experts to conduct internal investigations — into data leaks, fraud, or espionage.
Forensic experts are also in demand at startups that develop cybersecurity tools — former investigators test products and help design new protection technologies.
When to initiate an investigation
A forensic audit is relevant in the following situations:
- Cyberattack or malware infection. It is essential to identify which data and processes were affected. It is also highly recommended to determine the method of breach and reconstruct the sequence of actions taken by the attacker in order to implement effective countermeasures in the future.
- Internal violations within the organization. For example, unauthorized access to confidential data or misuse of company resources for personal purposes.
- Recovery of lost data. If important information was accidentally or intentionally deleted.
- Legal proceedings. Conducting an expert analysis at the request of law enforcement agencies, plaintiffs, or defendants in various cases.
- Unexplained system malfunctions. When hardware or software fails to function correctly without any obvious or visible reason.
How an Investigation Is Conducted
Below is an example of what a typical incident investigation looks like from a forensic expert’s perspective.
Stage 1: Incident documentation and artifact collection
It all begins with the search for “artifacts” — fragments of data that help reconstruct the sequence of events. At this stage, basic information is recorded: computer name, OS version, system time, and time zone. This is necessary to synchronize log events and avoid confusion.
Network interfaces are also examined. For example, MAC and IP addresses can show how the device interacted with other systems, while connection history may reveal where and when the user accessed the network.
In any case, everything is simply documented first. Evidence is preserved in its original form. This is achieved through hashing: each file receives a digital “fingerprint” that confirms its authenticity.
Stage 2: Log, device, and network analysis
Next, experts analyze logs, devices, and network activity to identify correlations. For example, log analysis can reveal who accessed the system and when.
But that's just the beginning: investigators sometimes go as far as capturing a RAM dump to extract data about running processes, or examining smartphones and tablets to determine all specific user actions.
Still, collecting data is not enough. Its meaning must also be interpreted — that is, reconstructing the timeline of events, uncovering hidden user activity, and finding evidence of involvement in a cybercrime.
Stage 3: Event reconstruction and vulnerability identification
Forensics experts often need to recover deleted files — for instance, those erased by a trojan, worm, or directly by an attacker.
The point is that when a file is deleted, whether through the recycle bin or a console command, it doesn’t disappear completely. Instead, the system marks it as deleted, but the data remains on the disk. Special recovery utilities can be used to retrieve the file’s contents.
Stage 4: Report preparation and data transfer to law enforcement (if necessary)
The final stage is preparing a report for the court or investigative authorities. This document contains conclusions, a description of the methods used, and the evidence found during the investigation. It must be accurate, concise, and understandable to all participants in the process, even (and especially) those who are not experts in the technical details.
Forensic Tools and Methods
Forensic experts use various tools in their work—each for a specific task. These include, for example:
- Utilities for disk analysis and file recovery.
- Programs for traffic analysis.
- Solutions for malware detection.
However, technical skills and tools alone are not enough. It is important to comply with legal standards: to document the chain of evidence, use hashing to confirm data integrity, and record every step.
Without this, the evidence simply will not be accepted in court.
Ethics also play a significant role. In investigations, it is necessary to remain impartial, rely only on facts, and not abuse access to personal data. Disclosure of information is a serious violation, and no reputable specialist would allow it.
What is the difference from antivirus or SIEM
Antivirus, SIEM systems, and forensics are fundamentally different cybersecurity tools, designed for very different scenarios. Ideally, all three approaches should be used.
Antivirus
Antivirus programs act as a barrier. They scan files, programs, and processes to detect and block malware. Their main goal is to prevent system infection. However, antivirus software does not analyze the causes of an attack (although it may provide some basic audit tools, it is far from advanced in this regard) and does not reconstruct the sequence of events. They simply stop threats based on known patterns and signatures.
SIEM Systems
SIEM systems collect and analyze data about events on the network. They aggregate logs from servers, network equipment, and applications, identifying unusual and abnormal activity. These systems help detect attacks, investigate incidents, and comply with regulatory requirements, but again, they do not delve into detailed analysis of consequences or data recovery.
Forensics
Forensics is a "reactive" tool for investigation. It comes into play after an attack has occurred and there is a need to understand exactly how it happened, who is responsible, and which data was affected and which was not.
Experts examine disks, memory, logs, files—to reconstruct the chain of events, gather evidence, and minimize collateral damage (and in some cases, even future damage).
Myths and Truths About Data Forensics
Data forensics is surrounded by myths: some believe it will reveal everything, while others consider it useless. Where is the truth? Let’s understand the real capabilities and limitations of digital forensics.
Truth: Forensics experts do not hack – they analyze
There is a common misconception that forensics involves hacking systems. However, this has nothing to do with reality. The main task is precisely the analysis of digital traces. Specialists study logs, metadata, residual files to understand what actually happened and how it can be fixed. They do not break into protected systems.
Myth: Forensics experts are "ethical" hackers
No, of course not. However, to be fair, it should be noted that the work of forensics experts sometimes overlaps with the activities of "white" hackers. While the latter search for vulnerabilities to fix them, forensics experts analyze the consequences of breaches, helping to identify the culprits and reconstruct the sequence of events. Both fields are important for cybersecurity, but their areas of focus are still different.
Both a myth and a truth: Deleted data can always be recovered
The situation here is mixed. Data can be recovered in the vast majority of cases, but, of course, there are exceptions. For example, if the disk was encrypted and all passwords were lost/stolen/changed, decrypting it will be challenging.
The prospects look much less optimistic if physical damage has occurred: the platters inside the disk are broken or covered with deep scratches. In such cases, recovering anything is unlikely — the damaged magnetic surface is equivalent to irreversible data loss.
How to become a forensic specialist
The best start is to obtain specialized education. It provides a foundation, but of course, practice is also necessary. Many begin by working in security operation centers (SOCs), where they learn to respond quickly to incidents and gain a deeper understanding of cybersecurity.
As a general phenomenon.
With such a background, you can try for junior roles. Core skills will be gradually developed on the job: analyzing real incidents, processing data, working with tools. Theory must be mastered as well (often simultaneously): courses, books, conferences, communication with colleagues. It is important to develop familiarity by studying cases, attack techniques, and the "signature" of attackers.
Next comes career advancement. Patience and hard work.
In summary, forensic analysis is an important field requiring meticulous attention and the ability to process diverse information. When the truth needs to be uncovered, it helps businesses of all sizes.