ETHICore: Ethical Compliance and Oversight Framework for Digital Forensic Readiness

How can organisations be forensically ready? As organisations are bound to be criticised in the digitally developing world, they must ensure that they are forensically ready. The readiness of digital forensics ensures compliance in an organisation’s legal, regulatory, and operational structure. Several digital forensic investigative methods and duties are based on specific technological designs. The present study is the first to address the core principles of digital forensic studies, namely, reconnaissance, reliability, and relevance. It reassesses the investigative duties and establishes eight separate positions and their obligations in a digital forensics’ investigation. A systematic literature review revealed a gap in the form of a missing comprehensive direction for establishing a digital forensic framework for ethical purposes. Digital forensic readiness refers to the ability of a business to collect and respond to digital evidence related to security incidents at low levels of cost and interruption to existing business operations. This study established a digital forensic framework through a systematic literature review to ensure that organisations are forensically ready to conduct an efficient forensic investigation and to cover ethical aspects. Furthermore, this study conducted a focus group evaluation through focus group discussions to provide insights into the framework. Lastly, a roadmap was provided for integrating the system seamlessly into zero-knowledge data collection technologies.