Digital Forensics Market Size, Share, Industry, Forecast and outlook (2024-2031)

Global Digital Forensics Market is segmented By Type (Mobile Device Forensics, Computer Forensics, Network Forensics, Database Forensics, Malware Forensics, Email Forensics, Automotive Forensics, Others), By Component (Hardware, Software, Services), By End User (Government Agencies & Law Enforcement, Banking, Military & Defence, Telecom & IT, Health Care, Others), By Distribution Channel (Retail Sales, Third-Party Distributor, Online Sales, Others), and By Region (North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa) – Share, Size, Outlook, and Opportunity Analysis, 2024-2031 

Digital Forensics Market Overview

Global Digital Forensics Market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 12.2% during the forecast period 2024-2031

Digital forensics is concerned with identifying, examining, preserving, and analyzing digital evidence, using scientifically validated and accepted processes to be used in and outside of a court of law. Electronic evidence is a part of almost all criminal activities and digital forensics help is crucial for law enforcement investigations.

Electronic evidence can be collected from various sources, such as smartphones, computers, remote storage, shipborne equipment, unmanned aerial systems, and more. Digital forensics aims to collect data from electronic evidence, process it into intelligence and offer the findings for prosecution. As society increases its reliance on cloud computing and computer systems, digital forensics becomes crucial for law enforcement agencies and businesses.

Digital Forensics Market Scope

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Digital Forensics Market Growth Trends

The global digital forensics market is boosted by the need for effective solutions to tackle child abuse.

Need for effective solutions to tackle child abuse

Cell phones play a role in the majority of child abuse cases. Text messages, video, photos, and even geo-location records provide key evidence for investigators looking into an issue. Unfortunately, processing and extracting information from a mobile device is usually a long and challenging process. Today, the developing field of digital forensics attempts to implement the tools for law enforcement to defend children in cyberspace and provide crucial evidence to prosecutors whose job is to seek justice for the victims of these criminals.

Victims of abuse have to turn over their phones to authorities for inspection, typically taking between 3 and 6 months. Hence, companies modify their techniques to help in critical criminal cases. For instance, In 2019, McMahon Ryan applied through the Gifford Foundation's Community Grantmaking program for funds to buy a unique data extraction device known as the Cellebrite UFED Touch 2. This technology can immediately and securely copy all data on a cell phone in 30 minutes. In some cases, it can retrieve deleted files. The new technology is a more comprehensive way to gather information and makes life easier for victims who do not have to relinquish their cell phones for long periods.

Lack of trained professionals

Digital evidence now features in nearly 90% of criminal cases. Digital examiners in the police and private laboratories use specialized software and other techniques to retrieve, secure and analyze data from suspect communications, photos, and other digital interactions that could shed light on their activities. Devices such as laptops, phones, and flash drives are becoming more central to police investigations, but the reliability of digital forensics experts' evidence has been questioned. A recent study found that experts tended to discover less or more evidence on a suspect's computer hard drive to implicate them depending on the contextual information about the investigation that they were given. Even those performed with the same information often gave different conclusions about the evidence.

A report published by the Police Foundation recommended that training in digital forensics be implemented for everyone within the criminal justice system, including prosecutors, judges, and defense barristers, to help decrease instances of misinterpretation and thoroughly understand the limits of what can be achieved.

COVID-19 Impact on Digital Forensics Market 

The market for digital forensics has grown exponentially during the COVID-19 outbreak. The pandemic has accelerated the recent mass shift to home working and it looks to be here to stay. With this comes several challenges for organizations, particularly with technology, risk, and legal operations. Some methods of data theft may extend as systems being accessed outside of a corporate environment have lesser restrictions.

Corporate IT systems may allow connecting to third-party systems with inadequate oversight for those working from home. In particular, data transmittal to an unauthorized location may become harder to detect or prevent. It will likely lead to a requirement for more comprehensive analysis in finding evidence of any data theft. The proliferation of remote working technology will drive demand for skills in analyzing those technologies to a forensic level. During the pandemic, the continued growth in cloud technologies and mobile devices has created the need for forensic technology teams to cover the whole gamut of disciplines: operating systems, servers, mobile devices, computers, video calling software, collaboration tools, network traffic, and more.

Digital Forensics Market Segment Analysis

By type, the digital forensics market is segmented into mobile devices, computers, networks, databases, malware, email, automotive, and others.

The increasing number of cases in state and local governments will raise the need for computer forensics

Computer forensics is concerned with evidence found in computers and digital storage media. Computer forensics examines digital data to identify, preserve, recover, analyze, and present facts and opinions about digital information. It is widely used in civil proceedings and computer crime. The discipline also provides similar techniques and principles to data recovery, with other practices and guidelines designed to create an audit trail with a transparent chain of custody. Computer forensics uses investigative techniques to identify and collect evidence from a computer device. Computer forensics has also been demanding to uncover evidence that can be used in a court of law. Computer forensics also encompasses areas outside of investigations.

Evidence from computer forensics examinations is subjected to the same guidelines and practices as other digital evidence. Due to higher caseloads, state, and local governments will hire additional computer forensic science technicians to meet the demand. The Bureau of Labor Statistics categorizes computer forensics examiners' work under the "information security analyst" category. The market for the job is expected to grow by 32% from 2018 to 2028, which is extraordinarily fast. At this growth rate, more than 35,500 jobs are expected to be added during that period.

Digital Forensics Market Geographical Share

Increasing cases of financial identity theft and cyberattacks are boosting sales in North America

According to the Aite Group, almost 47% of Americans experienced financial identity theft in 2020. A recent study revealed that losses from identity theft cases cost $502.5 billion in 2019 and grew 42% to $712.4 billion in 2020. The U.S. financial system has been an aim of foreign cyber adversaries for a considerable period. Various laws have been imposed for the private sector to have a dedicated cyber protection team to provide surge capacity during an ongoing cyberattack in advanced analysis and network and endpoint forensics.

The banks in the region have faced cyberattacks that eventually led to exposed data of consumers. Federal officials have also recommended that banks monitor their network activities. Therefore, such government impositions drive the region's demand for digital forensics solutions. The companies have taken various initiatives, boosting the region's digital forensics market. For instance, in 2021, Magnet Forensics launched the Auxtera Project, intending to bring the digital forensics community together to help ensure that a lack of trained personnel and digital forensic technology would not stand in the justice way for the safety of children or the protection of other vulnerable populations.

Moreover, in 2021, Paraben Corporation launched a new platform "E3 Forensic Platform" 3.0 version for digital evidence and data investigations. The latest edition enabled a combined study of digital data from many sources, including smartphones, computers, and the cloud.

Digital Forensics Market Companies and Competitive Landscape

The digital forensics market is highly competitive with the presence of global companies. The companies hold high bargaining power due to the rising need for digital forensic services. The players include Oxygen Forensics, IBM Corporation, KLDiscovery Inc, Binary Intelligence LLC, Digital Forensics Corporation, AccessData Group LLC, Magnet Forensics, Cellebrite, LogRhythm, Inc., TCS Forensics, and others.

Oxygen Forensics

Overview: Oxygen Forensics is a global digital forensics software provider, that gives federal agencies, law enforcement, and enterprises access to critical data and insights. The company specializes in mobile devices, drones, cloud, and IoT data. The company was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia. Oxygen Forensics operates in over 150 countries, among nearly 10,000 customers, spanning regional and local law enforcement agencies, homeland security organizations, and private enterprises.

Product Portfolio: The company provides various services, including oxygen forensic detective, oxygen forensic training, oxygen forensic detective enterprise, and others.

Key Development: In 2021, Oxygen Forensics announced the release of the new version of their digital forensic solution, Oxygen Forensic Detective v.14.0. This update offers numerous significant enhancements, improves data access, provides custom password dictionaries, adds extraction methods, and introduces a new feature to enhance data analysis among multiple extractions.