• Posted by: Digital Task Force

Why Are Cyber Forensics Professionals in Demand in 2025?

Cyber forensics professionals are crucial for determining the what, how, extent, and who of cyber incidents. In other words:

• What happened? Understanding the nature of the breach or attack.
• How did it happen? Identifying the methods, tools, or vulnerabilities exploited.
• How bad is it?Assessing the scope and impact of the incident, including compromised data and system integrity.
• Who is responsible? Tracing the source of the attack, which could involve identifying hackers, insider threats, or malicious actors.

These professionals collect, preserve, analyse, and interpret digital evidence to uncover the truth behind Cyber Crimes, providing insights necessary for remediation, prosecution, and prevention of future incidents.

A cyber forensic expert employs advanced methods to thoroughly investigate incidents, ensuring every detail is carefully examined. They focus on maintaining a secure and verifiable chain of evidence. This evidence is court-admissible, supporting legal proceedings to resolve disputes and hold cybercriminals accountable.

According to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), the financial impact of Cyber Crime has been escalating significantly. In 2023, IC3 received 880,418 complaints, with reported losses exceeding $12.5 billion, marking a 22% increase from 2022.Internet Crime Report While the 2024 Internet Crime Report has not been released yet, preliminary data indicates a continued upward trend in Cyber Crime losses. For instance, in the first quarter of 2024, the FBI reported a 15.2% decrease in violent crime but did not specify figures for Cyber Crime. Federal Bureau of Investigation however, other reports suggest that losses from cryptocurrency-related scams surged by 45% in 2023, amounting to over $5.6 billion, Reuters indicating that the financial impact of Cyber Crime continues to grow. This persistent rise underscores the critical need for skilled and certified cyber forensics professionals to combat the increasing threat.

What is Cyber Forensic?

Cyber forensics focuses on examining digital sources to uncover credible evidence of significant data security breaches. This investigation includes analysing physical devices, network logs, databases, and cloud platforms, as well as recovering deleted data and sometimes exploring the dark web for clues.

Maintaining data integrity is paramount in cyber forensics. Any loss or contamination of data can compromise the entire investigation. To ensure accuracy and reliability, digital forensics analysts adhere to a structured process:

• Identification: Locate all potential data sources with relevant information.
• Preservation: Protect the data to prevent any alterations, tampering, or erasure.
• Analysis: Correlate and examine the data to reconstruct the incident.
• Documentation: Create a comprehensive timeline detailing the events and individuals involved.
• Presentation: Deliver findings in a clear and concise format.

Why is There a Growing Demand for Certified Cyber Forensics?

Responding to security breaches is a challenging task. It can take up to 287 days—more than nine months—to detect and resolve a data breach (IBM, 2021). During this time, organizations risk losing critical data needed to trace and apprehend the perpetrators. To counter these threats, companies increasingly hire in-house computer forensics experts or partner with forensic Cyber Security consultants. These professionals address emerging challenges such as:

• Rapid technological changes: Shifts in IT infrastructure, like the transition to remote work during Covid, led to a 220% spike in phishing attacks (Warburton, 2021).
• IoT vulnerabilities: With over 13 billion Internet of Things (IoT) devices online (Statista, 2021), many lack adequate security, making them prime targets for hackers and platforms for botnet attacks.
• Cryptocurrency risks: Cryptocurrencies are difficult to trace, aiding ransomware attackers. In 2021, $14 billion in criminal activity involved cryptocurrency, a 79% increase from 2020 (Chavez-Dreyfuss, 2022).
• Accessible hacking tools: Sophisticated hacking tools are now available for purchase, enabling more individuals to carry out cyberattacks and overwhelming defence systems.
• Anti-forensics techniques: Cybercriminals continually develop new methods to erase evidence and hinder investigations, complicating the work of forensic analysts.

Businesses allocate around 10% of their annual IT budgets to Cyber Security (Deloitte, 2020), primarily for preventive measures. However, when preventive defences fail, skilled cyber forensic professionals are essential for investigating incidents and delivering fast, actionable results.

Is Cyber Forensics a Promising Career?

The demand for cyber forensic analysts will persist as long as Cyber Crime exists. Digital forensics professionals earn an average annual salary of $74,902 (PayScale, 2022). Alternatively, you could work as a private consultant, charging clients hourly for your expertise.

To excel in this field, you'll need strong technical training, extensive IT knowledge, relevant certifications (covered in the next section), and hands-on Cyber Security experience. Equally important are personal qualities, such as:

• Curiosity: A relentless drive to uncover the truth. Cyber forensic experts must ask questions, follow leads, and investigate all possible data sources to find answers.
• Attention to detail: The ability to identify patterns and evidence in even the smallest traces of data while meticulously adhering to proper investigative processes.
• Continuous learning: The willingness to stay updated on ever-evolving hacking methods and anti-forensic tactics.
• Strong communication skills: The capability to present findings clearly to non-technical audiences, including executives, law enforcement, or juries.

Cyber forensics can also be a gateway to senior roles in Cyber Security, such as Security Architect or Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), offering further career advancement opportunities.