Digital Forensics: The Science of Investigating Digital Traces

In an era where data has become the most valuable asset, business operations rely almost entirely on digital systems. Transactions, communication, documentation, and trade secrets are stored as bits and bytes.

However, this reality also brings significant risks: threats of data leaks, digital fraud, system abuse by insiders, and cyberattacks that can cripple business operations.

When an incident occurs, the most pressing questions are no longer just “How do we fix it?” but more critically: “What actually happened? Who was responsible? And how can it be proven?”

This is where Digital Forensics emerges as a crucial business investigation discipline. It helps uncover the truth from existing digital traces, and transforms raw data into evidence that can be held accountable legally and corporately.

What Is Digital Forensics?

Digital Forensics is a structured scientific methodology for identifying, collecting, securing, analyzing, and presenting digital evidence from a device or system.

In a business context, digital forensics is an investigation method to ensure that every conclusion regarding an incident is based on verifiable evidence and facts.

Digital evidence can come from various sources, such as information systems, work devices, business applications, and network infrastructure.

Digital forensics ensures that such evidence is collected and analyzed in a lawful, accurate, and accountable manner.

Through this approach, organizations gain an objective foundation for determining next steps, whether it’s improving internal controls, taking disciplinary actions, or escalation to the legal realm.

The Role of Digital Forensics in the Digital World

Within today’s complex business ecosystem, digital forensics serves as the foundation of investigation when information security incidents occur.

1. Cybersecurity Incident Investigation

When ransomware attacks or data breaches occur, digital forensics is responsible for identifying the entry point, attack methods, scope of impact, affected data, and the spread of the incident.

The results of this investigation are then used to stop the attack, recover systems, and prevent similar incidents from recurring.

2. Handling Fraud and Internal Misconduct

Allegations of financial fraud, data embezzlement, or abuse of authority by employees require careful and objective proof.

Digital forensics can trace unusual transactions, off-hours system access, or secret communications conducted through company assets.

3. Support for Legal Disputes and Compliance

In legal disputes such as intellectual property rights violations, unfair competition, problematic employment termination, and even regulatory violations, digital evidence often determines the outcome of decisions.

Digital forensics ensures that such evidence is collected using methods that meet judicial standards (forensically sound).

Furthermore, many regulations like the PDPA (Personal Data Protection Act) and financial sector regulations (Financial Services Authority regulations) require organizations to have incident investigation capabilities.

4. A Key Pillar of Cybersecurity, Risk Management, and Governance (GRC)

In the context of cyber security, digital forensics provides insights to strengthen organizational defenses and system security.

Beyond that, digital forensics helps demonstrate the effectiveness of internal controls and uncover previously unidentified risk gaps. It enables organizations to prepare even before incidents occur.

Meanwhile, at the governance level, forensic findings become valuable input for the board of directors to evaluate the organization’s security and compliance policies.

Objectives and Benefits of Digital Forensics

The main goal of digital forensics is to find the root cause of a digital incident objectively. Beyond that, digital forensics provides tangible business value, such as:

• Identifying Root Causes (Root Cause Analysis)
  Addressing symptoms alone is insufficient. Digital forensics traces incidents back to their root causes, enabling systemic remediation and more effective prevention.
• Providing Strong and Defensible Evidence
  Strict forensic processes preserve evidence integrity through proper chain of custody. This is very important if the case must be brought to the legal realm or facing a regulatory audit.
• Reducing Financial and Operational Impact
  Quick and accurate investigation minimizes downtime, recovery costs, and potential regulatory fines or legal claims. By knowing the exact scope of the incident, management can make focused risk mitigation decisions.
• Protecting Reputation and Trust
  A transparent and fact-based response in handling incidents can maintain the trust of customers, partners, and the public. Forensic evidence also protects the company from baseless accusations.
• Supporting Audits and Regulatory Compliance
  Forensic reports serve as critical supporting documentation for internal and external audits and for demonstrating compliance with industry regulations and standards.

Types of Digital Forensics

Based on the object or source of evidence, digital forensics can be classified into several key areas:

1. Computer Forensics

Focuses on evidence from hard drives, memory (RAM), and operating systems of desktops and servers. This type is used to investigate unauthorized access, data leakage, or suspicious activity on workstations.

2. Database Forensics

Investigates activity on database management systems (such as Oracle, SQL Server, MySQL). Database forensic experts trace suspicious queries, unauthorized data changes, or mass data extraction by unauthorized users.

Database forensics is crucial for investigating financial fraud, structured data breaches, or report manipulation.

3. Network Forensics

Analyzes network traffic to detect attacks, track ongoing threats, or identify suspicious communication patterns between internal and external systems.

4. Mobile Device Forensics

Investigates smartphones and tablets to find evidence such as messages, location history, contacts, or documents.

Mobile forensics becomes very relevant for cases involving communication via apps, geolocation, or access to company data from personal devices (BYOD).

5. Cloud Forensics

Cloud forensics focuses on analyzing logs from cloud services (such as AWS, Azure, Google Cloud), user activity, and configurations that may cause incidents.

Cloud forensics is becoming increasingly critical as businesses migrate to the cloud. The process is complex because data is scattered in multi-tenant environments and requires coordination with cloud providers.

6. Social Media and Application Forensics

Tracing evidence from social media platforms and communication apps (such as WhatsApp, Telegram) often used in cases of harassment, information leaks, or social engineering.

How Digital Forensics Works: Process Overview

The digital forensics process follows strict standard stages to ensure the legal validity of findings. Conceptually, the process includes:

• Identification & Preparation: Defining the incident scope, investigation objectives, and preparing qualified teams and tools. This is a strategic planning phase.
• Evidence Collection & Preservation (Acquisition): Securing digital evidence from its source (computer, server, cloud) in a way that does not damage or alter it, often by creating a forensic image. This stage is critical for maintaining the Chain of Custody, which is complete documentation of who, when, where, and how the evidence was handled from discovery until presented in court.
• Analysis: Forensic experts examine the secured evidence using various tools and methodologies. They search for patterns, correlations, and event reconstruction. This phase requires high expertise and precision.
• Interpretation & Reporting: The analysis results are translated into language understandable by non-technical stakeholders, such as management, legal departments, or regulators. Forensic reports must be clear, objective, and focused on facts relevant to the investigation’s purpose.
• Presentation (If Required): Forensic experts may be asked to give testimony in court or other legal forums, explaining the methodology and findings in a clear and convincing manner.

In various cases, the collection, analysis, and reporting stages are the most crucial phases in digital forensics.

Auditors or investigators typically invest the most time and effort in these stages, as they determine the overall validity of the investigation.

Errors in evidence acquisition can compromise data integrity, incomplete analysis can lead to incorrect conclusions, and weak reporting can render forensic findings useless for management, auditors, or legal proceedings.

Tools Used in Digital Forensics

In practice, digital forensics is supported by various tools that function as investigative aids. These tools help increase efficiency and accuracy in managing large and complex data volumes.

However, tools do not replace expertise. Common tool categories include:

• Imaging & Disk Analysis Tools: Used to create forensic copies (e.g., dd forensic imaging or FTK Imager) and analyze file systems, deleted files, and hidden storage areas.
• Memory Forensics Tools: Used to extract and analyze RAM data, including running processes, active network connections, and stored credentials.
• Log Analysis Tools: Used to collect, aggregate, and analyze logs from various sources (servers, firewalls, applications) to track user and system activity.
• Database Forensic Tools: Specialized software that can read and analyze database transaction logs, caches, and data files in order to reconstruct suspicious SQL activity.
• Network Forensic Tools: Such as Wireshark, used to capture and analyze data packets traversing the network.
• Mobile Forensic Tools: Specialized hardware and software (such as Cellebrite UFED or Oxygen Forensics) to extract and analyze mobile device data under various security conditions.

Tool selection depends on the investigation type and must always be supported by proper processes and documentation.

However, it is important to understand that tools are not the main solution. Without the correct process and adequate competence, the use of tools can even lead to misleading conclusions.

Examples of Digital Forensics

One example of digital forensics application is investigating customer data leakage.

When sensitive data is found circulating outside the company’s systems, digital forensics helps trace the origin of the leak, the distribution path, and the responsible party.

These findings form the basis for corrective actions and regulatory reporting where required.

Another example is investigating unauthorized internal access.

In this case, digital forensics is used to verify whether there was misuse of access rights or violation of internal policies.

The primary focus is not technical hacking techniques, but reconstructing the incident timeline and supporting business decisions based on factual evidence.

Conclusion

Digital Forensics is no longer a luxury reserved for major cases or high-profile cyberattacks. It has evolved into an essential component of digital business prepadness and resilience.

Within the framework of good IT Governance, forensic capability is a tangible form of proactive risk management implementation.

With the right approach, digital forensics helps companies understand incidents objectively, protect reputation, and meet compliance obligations.

For decision-makers, digital forensics readiness is an investment in governance, trust, and business sustainability in the digital era.

FAQ: Digital Forensics

1. What is the difference between Digital Forensics and Cybersecurity?

Cybersecurity focuses on prevention, detection, and real-time system protection. Meanwhile, Digital Forensics is a reactive and investigative field tasked with uncovering the “what, how, and who” behind an incident after it occurs.

2. When does a business need digital forensics?

When a data leak occurs, indications of internal fraud, unauthorized access, legal disputes, or when the company must explain an incident to regulators and auditors.

3. Is digital forensics only for major cybercrime cases?

No. Digital forensics is also relevant for small-scale internal incidents that impact company risk, compliance, and reputation.

4. Why must digital evidence be handled forensically?

To ensure evidence remains valid, uncontaminated, and accountable in audits, internal investigations, or legal proceedings.

5. Are forensic tools alone sufficient?

No. Tools are merely aids. Without proper processes and expertise, investigation results can be misleading and risky for the business.

6. Can deleted data still be recovered?

Yes, it is very possible. Deleting a file usually only removes its “reference,” not the actual data. The data remains on the storage media until it’s overwritten by new data.

Digital forensic experts have tools to recover deleted data. Secure data destruction requires specific methods such as physical destruction or secure wiping.