What is the primary goal of digital forensics?

The primary goal of digital forensics is to identify and process digital evidence for legal proceedings. This involves a systematic approach to collecting, preserving, analyzing, and presenting digital data in a manner that is legally admissible. Digital forensics professionals aim to uncover what has happened on a digital device, understand the implications of that data, and ensure that the evidence can withstand scrutiny in a court of law.

This goal encompasses various tasks such as analyzing hard drives, recovering deleted files, examining network traffic, and more, all with the intent of supporting investigations related to criminal activities, corporate disputes, or compliance issues. Ensuring the integrity and chain of custody of the digital evidence is paramount, as it must be proven that the evidence is reliable and has not been tampered with.

While recovering lost files or protecting against cyber threats are important aspects of the broader field of cybersecurity, they do not capture the essence of what digital forensics is fundamentally about. The focus is specifically on the legal and investigative implications of digital evidence.