CYBER FORENSICS – THE FUTURE

While Cyber Security is becoming more and more critical in our day to day functioning, given the all permeating nature of this technology in our lives, courtesy COVID-19, its Cyber Forensics which will show us the way forward. In this technological age there is cyber forensics in everything. Lots of work in the forensic domain is conducted on a day to day basis by Cyber Security professionals and also normal cyber professionals of different domains. A bit of a cyber intelligence built through or enabled by Cyber Forensics tools can do wonders. If we were to have scientific cyber forensic analysis of all major hacks / breaches and insider data theft, our understanding of the cyber world would have been totally different.

Beyond the standard cyber forensic tools being used by our forensic science laboratories, in an equally mechanical manner, there is whole wide world to be tapped. There is the niche area of preventive cyber forensics, ready to be exploited both for providing one of kind business opportunity and also the examination and analysis which we all deserve; from a research institution to any business enterprise, need not be only IT enterprises. Today, no enterprise or govt. can exist without this facility or capability or expertise. However strange it might sound, there are very few professional courses available in this country and general forensics degree holders are supposed to handle this. This turns out to be an unacceptable proposition.

Loads of the current professionals are managing with sub standard certifications not commensurate to the the vastly complex requirement. Lots are managing with half baked knowledge or what they have picked up on the job, certainly without any mentor or guide. Their success is in managing what they have been assigned to and not what can be the optimum. Who knows the roadmap of this expertise and this discipline? How may cyber forensic scientists do you know of? Is that the aspiration of the technical oriented mind in this country or is it just coding, coding and coding. There is world beyond that. Cyber Forensics should become an aspirational discipline, much like Data Scientist or cardiac or neuro surgeon.

Such professionals will not come to of nowhere. Its high time we find the first level of mentors. They are few are far between and they are dispersed. They have to be *brought together to create, guide, monitor and upscale cyber forensics education* in this country. National Forensic Sciences University, a leader in the Forensic Science education, should take the lead and become world leaders in Cyber Forensics education too. It is already a force to be reckoned with in forensic science education globally. *Under the astute leadership which it has, it is certainly a doable proposition. It would take 5 years of hard work, but would certainly be worth the effort both by way of creating world class professionals and also developing the capability of taking care of our cyber infrastructure operations and professionals end to end.

PREVENTIVE CYBER FORENSICS IS ALREADY RULING THE WORLD.

Sanjay Sahay
Ex. IPS (ADGP)
IT, Cyber Security & Emerging Technologies Expert
Management Guru, Pro Public Speaker & Writer, Bengaluru