Digital forensics market set to double

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26 November 2015

Digital forensics is expected to become a $4.97 billion (€4.7 billion) business by 2021, up from $2.03 billion (€1.9 billion) in 2014, according to a recent Transparency Market Research study reported by Medgadget. That is a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 12.5% through that period.

Cybercrime, terrorism, and employee theft in IT are some areas that will drive the demand behind this growth, the researchers think.

New methods
Advances in forensics technology and lower costs are also helping, says the report.

The “ability to recover complex data from electronic devices, fingerprint recovery from metals, and Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) profiling,” is helping drive market growth, the research firm says in one release. Also, decreasing prices have “increased the affordability of forensic applications along with their market penetration,” the analysts say.

Cybercrime and corporate theft in IT are areas where the technology is being used, says the report. It is becoming important for analysing corporate “misuse of company data.”

“Growing cybercrimes and rising confidentiality issues among different sectors worldwide are primarily bolstering the growth of the market.”

An increasing awareness of how valuable data is by authorities is also helping the industry, the researchers think. They found that law enforcement is the “most active” group when it comes to using digital forensic tools. They are using it to uncover crimes and deliver evidence in courts.

Segments
Computer forensics leads the pack. Transparency Market Research splits its research into segments. It uses network forensics, computer forensics, cloud forensics, database forensics, and mobile device forensics, among others.

Computer forensics had the greatest share of the market last year, at 30% globally.

Applications are also dissected, and they found that law enforcement “accounted for the major share” in 2014. The technology is being used “to tackle the surging cybercrimes around the world,” one release says.

Who’s involved
Guidance Software, LogRythm, AccessData Group, Paraben Corporation, Binary Intelligence, Fireeye, Digital Detectives, ASR Data, Lancope, and Global Digital Forensics are among the “key players in the digital forensics market,” the researchers say.

Guidance Software’s gear includes forensic tools, such as a password accelerator that “streamlines and accelerates the process of identifying and unlocking password-protected files,” among other equipment, Guidance’s website explains.

LogRythm’s products include tools for spotting network-based attacks. They work by capturing all network communications and letting incident responders see “who did what, and when” quickly, LogRhythm’s website explains.

Mobile
Paraben, another player mentioned in the report, specialises in mobile forensic tools and personal digital investigations.

Mobile is becoming increasingly complex.

“Technologies for mobile computing are advancing comparatively faster than other electronic devices,” the report says.

Paraben says its mobile forensics products include a Faraday Cage system to stop unwanted wireless signals “from wiping data or contaminating mobile device evidence from unwarranted communications.”

A Faraday Cage is a grounded screen made from metal that surrounds equipment to stop electrical fields.

Geography
“Increasing demand for forensics in North America is mainly exhibited from the banking, IT, law enforcement, and defence sectors,” a Transparency Market Research release goes on to say.

Europe was also important for the market in comparison to rest of world, because of the “high penetration of the technology in the UK, France, and Germany,” it adds.

 

Patrick Nelson, IDG News Service

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