The Need for Proactive Digital Forensics in Addressing Critical Infrastructure Cyber Attacks

Currently, cyberattacks are increasing and have negatively impacted the operation of critical infrastructures globally. Consequently, the organizations overseeing these infrastructures are seemingly allocating more resources toward investigating cyberattacks after they have occurred instead of planning for and preventing potential attacks. Global supply chains, financial and health services, industrial, nuclear power plants, water treatment facilities, pipelines, and transportation are increasingly being targeted by threat actors utilizing ransomware and other destructive attacks. This research explores the need for proactive digital forensic modeling approaches that focus on Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA), Industrial Control Systems (ICSs), and automation in the preparation and defense of critical infrastructure networks.