Analysis of Digital Investigation Techniques in Cloud Computing Paradigm

Data security has always been the most essential aspect of computing. Many users when connected on the cloud do not know that they could be victim of cybercrime. Cloud computing being a mega network spread globally, majority of cloud users mostly use it to benefit from the availability of mass storage. Due to increasing use of storage services, it is possible for malicious users to misuse cloud storage services. Cloud computing is flourishing at a greater speed and likewise security risks on cloud are also increasing day by day. A key challenge of cloud forensics is that the cloud service providers have not yet established forensic capabilities to support investigations in case of a digital compromise. Cloud Forensics has three dimensions: technical, organizational and legal. Technical Dimension includes tools required to perform forensic investigations, proactive measures, data collection, data labeling and evidence segregation. Evidentiary data collection in cloud environment is another main challenge as it is stored at providers and customers end. Organizational dimension is not only restricted to cloud providers and customers, but it widens when providers outsource their services to third parties. Legal dimension covers SLAs and jurisdiction issues to ensure data security. A critical evaluation of digital forensic investigations of cloud storage services is necessary to determine key challenges associated to this field. The focus of this study is to explore various digital forensic analysis approaches that facilitate speedy and authentic analysis of the incriminating activities happened on the cloud environment. In this study, we have evaluated different cloud forensics frameworks and techniques and have identified main key challenges related to cloud forensics. The study findings are reported herein.