Digital Forensics Market Trends

Market Trends of Digital Forensics Industry

Mobile Forensics Type Segment is Expected to Hold Significant Market Share

• Mobile forensics is an important type of digital forensics, specifically examining and analyzing devices such as smartphones and tablets. It involves recovering, preserving, and analyzing digital evidence from mobile devices to aid the investigation.
• According to GSMA, The global smartphone penetration rate was estimated at 68 percent in 2022, which increased from 2018, with an estimated 6.3 billion smartphone subscriptions globally and a global population of around 7.4 billion. The increasing prevalence of mobile devices has led to the development of diverse and specialized mobile forensic tools and techniques.
• As mobile devices increasingly gravitate between personal and professional use, the data streams may also witness rapid growth. The mobile forensics process primarily aims to recover digital evidence or any relevant data from the device in a way that may preserve the evidence in a sound condition. The mobile forensic processes have precise rules that can isolate, seize, transport, and store data for analysis and prove digital evidence safely originating from mobile devices. Mobile devices include tablets, cellphones, PDAs, and other similar personal use equipment.
• In mobile forensics, evidence sources include the device's external and internal memory, SIM cards, cell towers, and network servers. The strong security of the SIM cards and the proprietary operating systems may obstruct evidence acquisition. The data on these mobile devices are personal. Therefore, the information becomes very crucial for forensic investigators. The physical acquisition of these devices has become essential to obtain this evidence without alteration.
• Moreover, increasing devices, the importance of social evidence, the increase in big data, and mobile malware are expected to become the major driving factors for mobile forensic solutions in the coming years. Although the field of mobile forensics is under continuous research, newer concepts, such as the involvement of cloud computing in the ecosystem and the evolution of mobile enterprise solutions, particularly mobile device management and BYOD, have brought new opportunities and issues to the sector.

North America is Expected to Hold Significant Market Share

• North America holds a considerable share of the global digital forensics market due to its robust economy, technological advancements, and high incidences of cybercrime. The market has been experiencing steady growth, driven by increasing cyber threats, regulatory compliance requirements, and the need for effective digital investigations.
• The law enforcement and government sectors are North America's primary digital forensics services and solutions consumers. Law enforcement agencies rely on digital forensics to investigate cybercrimes, fraud, intellectual property theft, and other criminal activities involving digital evidence.
• North America is expected to have a prominent share in the digital forensics market, where governments and private citizens can use this technology for criminal and civil cases. Agencies, like the FBI and State Police departments, are using this technology to catch criminals and terrorists involved in illegal activities online. In the private sector, this system is used for similar investigations inside the companies. The technological advancements in the forensics department and the growth in cybercrimes and advanced theft mechanisms are expected to increase investments in the digital forensics market.
• The growing number of cyber threats and attacks by organizations and individuals is increasing in the United States. According to the Identity Theft Resource Center, the number of data compromises and individuals impacted in the United States in 2022 was 1,802 and 422.14 million, respectively.
• North America is at the forefront of technological innovations in digital forensics. The region houses several leading technology companies, research institutions, and forensic laboratories that contribute to developing advanced tools and techniques. This includes advancements in mobile forensics, cloud forensics, artificial intelligence (AI)-based analytics, and forensic data analytics.