Digital forensics is the branch of forensic science relating to the recovery and investigation of material found in digital devices. It involves acquiring digital evidence to reconstruct and analyze what happened on a digital device as part of an investigation or legal proceeding.
Companies may need digital forensic investigations for several reasons:
- To investigate cybersecurity incidents like data breaches, malware infections or insider threats.
- To gather digital evidence for lawsuits, compliance audits or internal investigations.
- To analyze technology failures or disputes involving digital assets.
- To respond to e-discovery requests in litigation cases.
- To monitor employee behavior and enforce security policies.
By utilizing digital forensics, companies can uncover the root causes of cyber incidents, gather legal evidence, demonstrate due diligence and ensure employees follow security protocols.
Factors That Influence Cost
There are several key factors that influence the total cost of a digital forensic investigation, including:
Size and Complexity of Case
The amount of data that needs to be preserved, collected, and analyzed is a major cost driver. More devices, larger storage volumes, and complex networking add time and effort for forensics experts. According to Vestige Digital Investigations, large corporate cases can easily top $100,000 in fees.[1]
Location/Travel Required
If a forensic analyst needs to travel to multiple locations to conduct an investigation, costs add up quickly from transportation, hotels, per diems, etc. Even local travel can become expensive if spread across many sites.[1]
Need for Specialized Expertise
Cases involving unique data sources or circumstances often require niche expertise that commands higher rates. Examples include investigations of cloud services, embedded systems, and specialized industrial control systems.[2]
Proper scoping, planning, and strategic use of services can help control these costs.
[1] https://www.vestigeltd.com/resources/articles/digital-forensic-services-cost-guide-vestige-digital-investigations/
[2] https://www.securitymetrics.com/blog/what-does-cyber-forensic-investigation-do-and-how-much-does-it-cost
Analyst Hourly Rates
The hourly rates for digital forensic analysts can vary significantly depending on the role, experience level, and whether the analyst works in-house or for an outsourced firm. According to ZipRecruiter, the average hourly pay for a computer forensics analyst in the U.S. is $48.88 per hour as of January 2024. However, rates can range from $10.82 per hour for entry-level roles to $66.83 per hour for senior analysts.
Outsourced digital forensics firms often charge $200-300 per hour for senior analysts. In comparison, the average hourly wage for an in-house cyber forensics analyst is around $41 per hour, with a typical range of $37 to $47 per hour, according to Salary.com. Outsourced experts tend to command higher rates due to their specialized expertise.
Software and Hardware Costs
The cost of specialized forensic software and hardware can significantly impact the overall price of an investigation. Common expenses include acquiring licenses for forensic software tools like EnCase or FTK which can range from $2,000 to over $10,000 depending on the specific capabilities needed (Uon Digital Repository – University of Nairobi).
Forensic workstations, imaging devices, and other hardware add to the overhead. Large storage solutions are also required to hold forensic images and evidence files. The volume of data in a case directly impacts storage needs. One source indicates 500GB can store around 325,000 documents, equating to around $100-200 in storage costs (Security and Privacy for Big Data, Cloud Computing and Applications). Larger cases may require terabytes of storage which significantly increases costs.
Case Study 1
This case study from the NIST Small Business Cybersecurity Case Study Series walks through a straightforward digital forensics investigation conducted by a small marketing firm. The company’s owner noticed that someone had accessed the company’s Google analytics account and may have downloaded or deleted data. She contacted a digital forensics firm to investigate.
The forensics firm started by making a forensic image of the computer used to access the Google analytics account. They then analyzed the image to construct a detailed timeline of the computer’s activity, focusing on internet history, cache files, cookies and more. They also looked for any downloaded files or deleted analytics data. In the end, they determined that no company data had been tampered with or exfiltrated. The total cost was around $3,000.
This simple case highlights how even minor suspicions of unauthorized access can warrant a digital forensics investigation. While the cost was not insignificant for a small business, it provided the owner with assurance that no company data had been compromised. The relatively low cost reflected the straightforward nature of the case.
Case Study 2
In this corporate case study highlighted on Case Studies | Cyber Security | Computer Forensics Experts, a large multinational technology company was facing a complex data breach incident. The company’s legal team hired a digital forensics firm to conduct a thorough investigation to determine the full impact of the breach.
The forensics team was provided with 4 terabytes of data to analyze, including images of compromised servers and log files. They worked closely with the client’s internal IT and legal teams to understand the company’s systems and data flows. This level of collaboration was essential for mapping out the breadth of the breach across the client’s global enterprise systems.
The investigation uncovered that threat actors had infiltrated the company’s network through a phishing attack targeting an employee in the HR department. From this initial foothold, they were able to move laterally and gain elevated access privileges. This ultimately allowed them to exfiltrate sensitive customer data and intellectual property over a period of several months.
By leveraging forensic techniques like memory analysis, log correlation, and data carving, the forensics team was able to paint a complete picture of the breach. Their efforts identified the initial attack vector, accounted for all compromised systems, and determined the full scope of data loss. This evidence was instrumental in developing an effective remediation strategy for the client.
Due to the large data volumes and complex environment, the investigation took over 5 months to complete. However, the client gained invaluable insights that helped strengthen their security posture against future attacks. While costly, the forensics engagement provided the detailed intelligence the company needed to respond to the breach in a strategic manner.
Additional Cost Factors
Beyond the basic costs of analyst time and tools, there are some additional factors that can drive up the total price tag of a digital forensic investigation:
Travel Costs
If the investigation requires analysts to travel to conduct on-site analysis or collect evidence, expenses like flights, hotels, rental cars, and food need to be accounted for. These costs quickly add up, especially for investigations spanning multiple locations.
Legal Fees
Forensic investigations often take place in a legal context, involving litigation or law enforcement. If external legal counsel is engaged to oversee the investigation and ensure proper handling of evidence, their fees must be considered.
Employee Training
For internal investigations within a company, relevant employees may require training on proper data collection and chain of custody procedures. The cost of this training, whether conducted internally or by an outside firm, contributes to the total.
Depending on the scope, these additional cost factors can sometimes rival the base fees for analysis itself. A business should budget for these expenses when planning a forensic investigation.
Cost Savings Tips
There are a few techniques that can help reduce the costs of a digital forensic investigation.
Data culling uses cost-effective tools and methods to analyze data and remove as many irrelevant documents from the collection as possible before processing, as mentioned in this article: https://precise-law.com/cut-costs-digital-forensic-services/. This can significantly reduce the amount of data requiring full processing and review.
Another option is to use automated digital forensics tools that can quickly process data in the background at a fixed cost, rather than relying solely on manual analysis. As described here: https://www.cio.com/article/234476/cut-costs-and-save-time-with-the-latest-in-digital-forensics.html, these tools can index, filter, and categorize large datasets efficiently.
Providing a smaller, more targeted dataset to the digital forensics team can also reduce ingestion and processing costs. As this article explains: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-reduce-your-ediscovery-costs-using-digital-part-nick, reducing the volume of data needing full processing is an effective way to lower costs.
Taking advantage of these techniques can significantly cut costs for many digital forensic investigations without sacrificing quality or completeness.
When Outsourcing Makes Sense
Outsourcing digital forensics investigations to an external provider has both advantages and disadvantages to consider. On the plus side, outsourcing gives access to forensic experts and advanced technologies that an organization may lack internally (Per Exhibit 1). Outsourcing can also improve efficiency and lower costs by leveraging economies of scale. Since digital forensics can be highly variable in workload, outsourcing provides scalability to ramp up or down as needed.
However, there are also potential downsides to outsourcing digital forensics. Organizations give up some control and transparency when using an external provider. There may be concerns about data security and maintaining chain of custody. Outsourcing can also lead to dependence on the provider and loss of internal capability. Carefully vetting providers and maintaining oversight is important (Per Exhibit 2).
Exhibit 1: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/twenty-benefits-outsourcing-forensic-investigations-case
Exhibit 2: https://www.provendata.com/blog/outsourced-cyber-security-pros-cons/
Conclusion
In summary, the cost of a digital forensic investigation can vary greatly depending on several key factors. The main drivers of cost are the hourly rates charged by digital forensic analysts, the amount of data involved, the complexity of the case, and whether specialized hardware or software is required.
For small, straightforward investigations involving under 10GB of data, costs often range from $1,500-$5,000. Medium-sized investigations dealing with 10GB to 50GB of data typically cost $5,000-$10,000. Large, complex investigations with over 50GB of data can cost $10,000-$25,000 or more.
The key factors to keep in mind when budgeting for a digital forensic investigation are the size and complexity of the case, the hourly rate of the analyst, whether specialized tools are required, and if testimony or report creation is needed. Consulting with a digital forensics company to get an estimate tailored to your specific needs is highly recommended.
By understanding these cost factors and ranges, organizations and individuals can better plan for this critical component of many legal matters, corporate investigations, and security incident responses.