Growth Opportunities in Digital Forensics in Law Enforcement, 2024-2030

Digital Capabilities for Investigation and Analysis in Open-Source Devices Enable Public Safety

Digital forensics involves recognizing, obtaining, handling, scrutinizing, and documenting electronic information. Many illicit activities leave some type of digital evidence, which exists in many forms: documents, emails, photos, videos, text messages, social media, GPS data, internet browsing history, and other types of metadata. Investigators can collect this evidence from various hardware including computer hard drives, network servers, mobile devices, and cloud storage.

Digital forensics platforms provide a way for case analysts and investigation teams to organize, track, and manage cases across agencies. Open-source databases, social media data, geolocation, device data, and other databases can provide the necessary context that helps investigators connect the dots and build their cases.

While numerous private sector industries have adopted digital forensics tools as part of their security operations, law enforcement agencies remain the primary customers for these platforms.

The report analyzes industry trends in digital forensics technologies in the areas of automation, investments, and transparency in data collection. Growth opportunities are related to how digital forensics solutions are prompting law enforcement agencies to reallocate budgets, assess risks, and protect privacy.