At the FutureCrime Summit 2026, a panel discussion and workshop titled “Planning, Setting Up, and Managing a Cybersecurity Laboratory” focused on the practical challenges of building forensic and cybersecurity facilities capable of supporting modern investigations, training and incident response.
The session brought together Ajay Sariyal, Technical Product Specialist at MSAB; Abhinav Saurabh of Forensic Care; Sub-Inspector Saurabh Haritesh of Delhi Police; and Ms. Priya Choudhary. Their combined perspectives placed technology, investigative requirements and operational management at the centre of a discussion about what is increasingly becoming essential infrastructure for cybersecurity and digital-forensics work. Ajay Sariyal’s role as a Technical Product Specialist at MSAB is also reflected in MSAB professional material, while independent institutional material identifies Saurabh Haritesh as a Sub-Inspector with Delhi Police.
Building A Laboratory Around Operational Needs
Setting up a cybersecurity laboratory involves considerably more than purchasing forensic workstations and security software. A functioning lab must first be designed around the work it is expected to perform, whether that involves digital evidence examination, mobile-device forensics, malware analysis, network investigation, cybercrime response or professional training.
The panel theme highlighted the importance of planning infrastructure according to investigative requirements. Hardware capacity, specialist forensic tools, secure networks, evidence-storage systems and controlled access all become part of the laboratory environment.
For law-enforcement agencies in particular, reliability and evidence integrity are crucial. A laboratory may be responsible for examining devices containing material relevant to criminal investigations, making documentation, controlled handling and repeatable forensic procedures central to its operations.
Technology Must Be Matched With Skilled Personnel
The presence of professionals from forensic technology and policing also reflected another requirement: sophisticated equipment alone cannot create an effective cyber laboratory.
Personnel must understand how to acquire, preserve, examine and interpret digital evidence while operating increasingly specialised tools. Regular training is particularly important because devices, operating systems, applications and methods used by cybercriminals continue to change.
Sariyal’s work with MSAB, a company focused on mobile-device forensics, brought a technology perspective to the discussion. MSAB separately identified him as one of its experts participating at FutureCrime Summit 2026. Abhinav Saurabh’s participation from Forensic Care, meanwhile, brought an additional forensic-services perspective, while Sub-Inspector Saurabh Haritesh of Delhi Police represented the operational realities faced by investigators.
Managing The Laboratory After Deployment
The panel also drew attention to a frequently overlooked issue: creating a laboratory is only the beginning.
Cybersecurity and forensic laboratories require continuous management, including equipment maintenance, software updates, licence management, storage planning, access controls and documented procedures. As caseloads increase, laboratories must also consider how evidence is prioritised and how examination backlogs can be reduced without compromising forensic standards.
The discussion therefore positioned laboratory planning as a long-term institutional commitment rather than a one-time technology purchase. For police agencies, forensic organisations and cybersecurity teams, the central lesson was clear: an effective laboratory must combine appropriate technology, trained specialists, secure processes and sustainable management.
As cyber investigations become more technically demanding and digital evidence plays a growing role across criminal cases, professionally designed laboratories are increasingly becoming a foundational capability. The FutureCrime Summit session underscored that the success of such facilities ultimately depends not on how many tools they contain, but on how effectively those tools, people and procedures work together.
