Digital Forensics Market Size & Analysis | Industry Report 2025

The global digital forensics market amassed US$ 3,080.5 million in 2017 and is speculated to hit US$ 6,945.6 million by 2025, surging at a CAGR of 10.9% during 2018–2025.

The intensifying cyber-security threats coupled with rapid digital transformations across a large number of industry verticals, exponentially increasing mobile digital services, and massive demand for the fast-tracking of asset recovery and detection of security breaches are the substantial elements catalyzing the digital forensics market growth. On the contrary, rising anti-forensic techniques with legal challenges curtail the market expansion.

The advent of Internet of Things (IoT) paradigms, particularly in industries, is anticipated to generate a new wave of misconducts, including cyber-attacks jeopardizing organizational data security. The challenges in digital forensics are amplified by the leveraging use of anti-forensic tools. Law-makers and digital forensic experts are striving to explore digital activities, often hidden in a massive database. There has been a global requirement for highly-skilled professionals who can address and catapult digital flaws and mishaps. Several countries are organizing programs to impart digital forensics training.

Regionally, North America held the largest share of the global digital forensics market and is likely to retain its dominance over the forecast period. Asia Pacific is speculated to spur with the highest CAGR during the forecast timeframe.

Future Trends

Artificial Intelligence Revolution in Digital Forensics

With every new technology and application, digital forensic is soon to usher into a new dimension due to emergence of artificial intelligence (AI). The working of digital forensics can now reduce bias in investigations and produce relevant shreds of evidence admissible in a particular scenario. The AI incorporation avails large volumes of data with complex computer algorithms. Investigators can navigate through a large pool of data routing from e-communication and social media to smart sensors and video footage. Demand for intelligent investigation created room for AI tools’ integration. It plays a pivotal role in digital forensics investigation in the form of sophisticated algorithms for DNA sequence matching, cybercrime detection, e-discovery document review, and digital analysis. Recognizing the pattern of signatures of suspects has become easier with AI. Huge investment by key market players and corresponding end-users demand anticipates a promising trend in the global digital forensics market.

Drivers

Intensifying Cyber-Security Threats Coupled with Rapid Digital Transformations Across a Large Number of Industry Verticals

Several organizations and manufacturers worldwide have been heavily investing in digital programs and digital forensics market initiatives. Large-scale adoption of cloud technologies by enterprises leads to digital transformation. Industry verticals with large volumes of data pioneered the adoption of digital services. The use of cloud, mobile devices, and big data penetrated almost all industry verticals. Mobile device has become a primary end-point for access to the internet and information. However, with increased digital penetration, rises the susceptibility of data security. The number of malicious emails questioning data concerns has been increasing rapidly. A lot of surveys established that email has been a primary attack vector of security breaches. Other network security threats include spam or malware that worm their way into confidential files of organizations for financial gains. Digital forensic tools help track and prevent such data breaching practices.

Exponential Increase in the Number of Mobile Digital Devices

Over half of the global population these days has made its presence felt on the internet due to global connectivity and innumerable communication options. This growth largely thrives on the availability of mobile devices at affordable prices and ease of access. Almost two-third of the worldwide population owns digital devices. The ever-increasing use of digital devices, mobile phones, and digital content has branched into digital forensics also. Be it a communication, social media posting, or searching any information, people find it suitable to get things done on smartphones rather than scrolling on computers. Smartphones and other digital mobile devices are therefore becoming evident sources of information. Given the rapid burgeoning of these devices, forensic investors use them as tools or sources of recorded evidence. Thus, the rising use of smartphones and other devices assists the expansion of global digital forensics market.

Restraints

Rise of Anti-Forensic Techniques Coupled with Legal Challenges

Despite digital forensics being embraced by many industry verticals for data security purposes, most of its applications still face technical, legal, and resource challenges. Though the technology apprehends fraudulent activities behind data losses, it also conceals the identity of the person involved within. Digital evidences are easy to manipulate, forge, remove, or hide. Such anti-forensic practices include encryption, steganography, covert channel, stowing away the data, residual data wiping, tail obfuscation, and attacking the tools and investigators. Since time has been a restraining factor in digital forensic investigation, hovering over large volumes of data for back-tracking and recovery becomes a daunting task for the organization. As the data stored in volatile memory is ephemeral, investigators can only access the most recent information. Besides, data privacy of the organization is at stake during a thorough forensic investigation. These challenges in investigating procedures hinder the global digital forensics market growth.

Strategic Insights

Digital Forensics Market Segmentation

By Type

Large-Scale Industrial Adoption Spiked the Segmental Growth

The global digital forensics market, based on type, is segmented into end-point, network, cloud, and mobile forensics. Each of these caters to different fragments of the digital domain. The segment, end-point forensics accounted for the largest market share in 2017 and is likely to retain the lead by 2025 with the largest revenue share. End-point forensics emphasize computer forensics and other network devices. It deals with legal evidences accessed from digital storage media and computers. It evaluates the usage of computer resources in the corporate work-sphere. A large number of organizations rely on end-point forensics for management, communication, and vital data storage. Private investigators utilize end-point forensic tools to trace unauthorized resources and detect corporate sabotage.

Mobile forensics, the second-largest market occupant, deals with the acquisition and investigation of digital devices to recuperate evidences of inspective interest. Cell phones, these days, are much more critical source of evidence than computers. Mobile forensics technology assists law enforcement by performing extraction, analysis, decoding, and recording of the data accessed from various devices. The penetration of IoT, large data volumes, and increasing number of mobile devices serve as force multipliers propelling the segmental growth.

By Component

Provision of Wide Range of Applications Strengthened the Segment’s Dominance

According to the component, the global digital forensics market is split into software and services. The former comprises tools used by digital forensic experts, while the latter is offered directly or outsourced. The services segment led the market in 2017 and is projected to keep dominating by 2025 with substantial market revenue. Digital forensics service providers offer investigation assistance, reviewing the findings, host network analysis, providing incident reports, investigating employees’ cyber activities, imparting training on digital forensics, and assessing security posture and forensic readiness.

Another segment, software, follows services in terms of market occupancy. Companies worldwide are constantly developing new forensic tools and software that can particularly assist forensic experts. These software include disk and data capture tools, file viewers, file analysis tools, registry analysis tools, email analysis tools, and network and database forensic tools. Some popular commercial forensics software comprises EnCase Forensic, AccessData FTK, Nuix, Vogon Forensic Software, SafeBack, and X-Ways Forensics. The threat of security breach increases with the emergence of novel technologies. Besides, the continual upgrading of digital device applications demands updated software versions in the global digital forensics market.

Global Digital Forensics Market by Component

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Regional Insights

Geographically, the global digital forensics market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC), South America (SAM), and Middle East & Africa (MEA).

North America housed the largest market share in 2017 and is projected to retain the lead till 2025. The region has been extremely open and competitive in terms of digital forensics solutions adoption across major industry verticals and contributes the highest in overall revenue generation worldwide. The internet plays a critical business function in North America, particularly in the US. The government and enterprises find it mandatory to implement digital forensics solutions to prevent critical data and infrastructure from unauthorized access.

The European digital forensics market accounted for a considerable revenue share in 2017. The major regional developments are seen in terms of a growing number of connected devices and well-spread internet network. The rising digitalization in European countries and government intervention in securing data through digital forensics contribute to the substantial growth of the digital forensics market.

Asia Pacific digital forensics market is expanding with the highest CAGR over the forecast period. China and Japan are leading the adoption and implementation of digital forensic services across major industry verticals. The use of IoT and digital tools across industrial, healthcare, enterprise, retail, and municipality sectors in APAC ascend the security issue concerns, which in turn spur the demand for digital forensic tools, services, and applications. In addition, the development of smart cities across the region is likely to accelerate the growth of digital forensics market.

Lucrative Regional Markets

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Key Market Players:

• AccessData (US)
• Binary Intelligence, LLC. (US)
• Cyfor (UK)
• FireEye, Inc. (US)
• Global Digital Forensics Inc (US)
• Kroll Associates, Inc. (Corporate Risk Holdings, LLC) (US)
• Logrhythm, Inc (US)
• Magnet Forensics, Inc (Canada)
• Qdiscovery (US)
• R3 Digital Forensics (US)

Key Developments:

• February 2018:

  AccessData introduced Quin-C, a solution that supports and monitors the workflow of corporate investigators, forensic labs, and legal teams of all sizes.

• April 2018:

  FireEye introduced updates in the FireEye Email Security to secure customers from email-based attacks, including commodity malware.

• January 2018:

  Kroll partnered with Red Canary (US) to offer clients a CyberDetectER end-point technology for alleviating the burden and consequences of cyber threat detection and mitigation.

• August 2016:

  LogRhythm received an investment of US$ 50 million from existing investor Riverwood Capital to extend management in security intelligence and analytics.

Report Coverage

The global digital forensics market research report provides detailed insights into the market in terms of size, share, trends, and forecasts. It delivers crisp and precise know-how of drivers, restraints, opportunities, segments, and industrial landscape. A list of key market players with their respective developments in recent years has been reserved as a special mention.