Digital Forensics

What Is Digital Forensics?

This is the process of examining and analyzing data and indicators of compromise (IOCs) on devices involved in a cyber incident. The goal is to recover and preserve crucial data that may have been damaged, hidden, or encrypted. This data may be integral to an organization’s operations, or it may be relevant to legal proceedings.

The importance of Digital Forensics

Depending on the data that was lost, business operations can come to a screeching halt, costing potentially millions of dollars a day in lost revenue, Understanding what an attacker did on the network, where they pivoted from, and where they pivoted to, are all imperative to containing to and eradicating the threat and reliably getting operations restored. If law enforcement is engaged, any and all data and indicators or compromise will be necessary for legal proceedings to identify responsible parties.

When should you conduct Digital Forensics Analysis?

In the event of a breach, digital forensics are almost always a necessity. Even if your business is fully capable of restoring operations from offsite backups and redundant networks, forensic analysis is still needed to identify the attacker’s entry point, and what footholds that attack may still have on the network.

Hand pressing down on laptop key with fingerprint in the background

How does Digital Forensics work?

Forensic analysis always starts with identifying the devices and data that are involved in the incident. This is followed by collecting both the data and devices and examining them for artifacts useful for gaining insight into the events surrounding the breach using various forensic tools and techniques to recover damaged data, search for evidence of tampering, and any other suspicious activity. Once analysis of the data is complete and formal report of the findings is presented to all the stakeholders.

Stakeholders

Forensic Analysts: Forensic analysts are responsible for analyzing the digital evidence collected during the investigation.
Legal Counsel: Legal counsel provides advice and guidance to the investigating agency throughout the investigation process. They help ensure that the investigation is conducted in compliance with relevant laws and regulations and that the digital evidence collected is admissible in court.
IT Staff: IT staff members may be involved in the investigation to provide technical support and expertise. They may help with the collection and preservation of digital evidence, or they may assist with the analysis of the evidence.

Deliverables

Investigation Report: The investigation report summarizes the findings of the investigation and provides details about the digital evidence collected, the analysis performed, and the conclusions reached. The report may also include recommendations for next steps or further investigation.
Evidence Collection Log: The evidence collection log provides a detailed record of all digital devices and data collected during the investigation, including the date, time, location, and description of each item.
Chain of Custody Documentation: Chain of custody documentation provides a detailed record of the custody and handling of each piece of digital evidence collected during the investigation. This documentation is important for establishing the authenticity and admissibility of the evidence in court.

Benefits

The task of analyzing an entire enterprise network is daunting and overwhelming. Black Cat Security understands that in most cases, your IT Staff will be understaffed and spread too thin to obtain the necessary coverage. Black Cat will take the reigns for your business and provide the level of quality and attention that is needed to secure a comprehensive understanding of the story your data tells.

Let’s Connect

Why not find out more about our services and how we can help you today? Reach out and schedule a call with one of our team members and let us show you how we can start making improvements.

Contact Us