Europe Digital Forensics Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2023-2028)

The European digital forensics market is expected to register a CAGR of 10.9% over the forecast period. Digital forensics has developed from investigating minor computer crimes to investigating incidents that have a significant impact. The digital forensics technique involves recovering and looking at information discovered in digital devices, frequently about computer crime. There are numerous uses for digital forensic investigations. Digital devices are quickly taking over Europe, and the market is always changing.

Key Highlights

• Other types of digital forensics, like those involving mobile phones and other handheld devices, are quickly gaining popularity for digital curation and preservation, even though the majority of forensics have been focused on desktops, laptops, and the associated media, such as the hard drive, floppy disc, and optical discs. The smartphone market has also been gradually expanding in terms of suppliers, models, and market size. Additionally, technologies like IoT and cloud are deeply influencing the IT industry and shaping the direction of the online world.
• The popularity of the cloud has increased as businesses in the region undergo a digital transformation, pushing BYOD policies to the fore in several sectors. The growth of cloud computing solutions that enable access to files and other data from anywhere has facilitated easier collaboration amongst teams in various places. As a result, a company has many linked devices, which increases the opportunities for intrusion by hackers.
• Forensic specialists work to improve corporate security by frequently advising CEOs on system upgrades and educating staff members on cybersecurity issues. Since data breaches can lead to financial or information theft, harming a company's finances and reputation, businesses hire forensic experts for security.
• Moreover, the demand for remote working solutions increased due to businesses switching from traditional workplace practices to working from home during this global pandemic. With more unsecured personal devices connecting to the enterprise's network, the potential of jeopardizing network security increases, so these changes must be carefully considered in the context of the firm's cybersecurity.
• Throughout response to the COVID-19 outbreak, cybersecurity precautions are also increasing in Europe. Public notice and a new guidance report were released by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) of the United Kingdom. According to the NCSC, there has been a rise in the registration of websites that deal with the coronavirus. Previously, NCSC implemented new automation techniques to recognize and eliminate websites that lure naïve users into downloading malware by using the coronavirus as bait. As a result, these activities are fueling the local market.

Europe Digital Forensics Market Trends

Growing Adoption of IoT Devices is Driving the Demand for Digital Forensic Solutions and Services

• Cybercriminals increasingly use IoT devices to distribute malware payloads as businesses and individuals keep connecting devices to the internet without taking the required security precautions. The term 'IoT' refers to a network of networked devices with constant connectivity and communication.
• IoT technology serves as the cornerstone for a variety of enterprises by enabling them to undergo digital transformations and giving them the ability to improve current operations by developing and implementing new business models. For example, businesses and service providers have focused on IoT as the primary enabler to support digital transformation. Therefore, as IoT devices become more widely used, they become more vulnerable to cyber dangers, which increases the demand for digital forensic tools.
• By exposing open attack surfaces, cybercriminals are exposing more IoT devices. As IoT devices become part of IoT botnets, distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks are becoming more popular. For instance, the Mirai botnet enabled hundreds of thousands of IoT devices to cooperate on massive network attacks by infecting them.
• According to Cisco's most recent Visual Networking Index research, smart homes are anticipated to be one of the major factors boosting IoT connection in the coming years. By 2022, the business projects that there will be 28.5 billion device connections and that about 50% of those connections will be IoT/machine-to-machine (M2M).
• Additionally, smart homes provide several advantages, a crucial trend in the idea of a smart city. The deployment of standardized security solutions is impossible due to the resource-constrained nature of several IoT devices in a smart home setting, including smart meters, smart thermostats, and smart entertainment systems. As a result, security concerns are currently a threat to smart homes, necessitating digital forensic solutions.
• The most common information technology trend deployed or intended to be adopted in North American and European enterprises was gigabit Wi-Fi networking, followed by IT automation technologies, according to Spiceworks Ziff Davis, a US-based software company. Only 35% of respondents claimed that their business had already used blockchain technology or had plans to do so in 2023. This gives an idea of growing digital technology in Europe, which will influence the studied market in the region.

The United Kingdom is Expected to Hold a Significant Market Share

• Due to the rise in criminal activity, there is a growing need for digital forensics in the nation. The European Anti-Fraud Office, often known as OLAF, is a self-investigating instrument that Europe has created and uses to conduct digital investigations in a digital environment.
• In both civil and criminal cases across the region, digital forensic techniques are being used to create evidence. Numerous commercial firms are using the technology for their internal investigations to deal with fraudulent situations as attacks on governments and private companies increase as a result of the excessive volume of data being saved on hard drives and internet storage facilities.
• In December 2022 - According to His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services, police forces in England and Wales 'are failing to keep pace with technology when it comes to digital forensics' (HMICFRS). Since the ineffective forces have a backlog of more than 25,000 devices that need to be investigated, a significant shift in procedure and practice is necessary to combat digital crimes and make up for the dearth of technical resources.
• The growing IoT adoption rates in the United Kingdom are also expected to drive the market during the forecast period. According to SAS Institute, the telecoms, manufacturing, and energy utilities sectors are currently increasing the use of IoT devices, which drives the need for digital forensics.
• The UK's gross domestic product is expected to reach GBP 2,651 billion by 2025 and GBP 3,361 billion by 2040, according to CBER (Centre for Economics and Business Research). However, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic boosted digital technology investments, which also had an impact on the GDP of the nation. Investments in technology are predicted to boost the UK's GDP by 2.8 percent by 2025 and by almost seven percent by 2040. The growing digital infrastructure and Industry will also boost the Digital Forensics Market.

Europe Digital Forensics Market Competitor Analysis

The market for digital forensics in Europe is only modestly consolidated. Vendors in the market have relied heavily on partnerships, mergers, and acquisitions to develop goods acceptable to the end-user business. MSAB Inc., LogRhythm Inc., IBM Corporation, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Nuix are a few of the market's main participants.

• October 2022 - The 23rd training for digital forensics and analysts was completed by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF). The two-week course primarily trained workers from national law enforcement organizations and included computer crime, digital forensics, and analysis in anti-fraud. Students will be better able to handle forensic and analysis work in areas like money fraud analysis, financial investigations, cryptocurrency transactions, online data exchange, and collaboration with OLAF thanks to training courses in open source intelligence, Linux, and mobile forensics that are being offered.

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