Digital Forensics Expands Usage Across Government and Enterprises... KDFT Korea Digital Forensic Technology Standards Institute Leading Domestic ICT Market

With the advancement of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), the scope of utilizing 'digital forensic' techniques to uncover hidden criminal evidence in PCs, smartphones, and internet clouds is expanding extensively.

The government is increasing budget and manpower investment in digital forensics, making it common not only in the prosecution and police but also across government sectors such as the Fair Trade Commission, National Tax Service, Ministry of Employment and Labor, Ministry of Environment, and Financial Supervisory Service. This has led to increased applications in corporate audits, COVID-19 virus epidemiological investigations, and detection of large-scale credit card personal information leaks.

Recently, digital forensic techniques have also been applied to enforce origin control of agricultural and livestock products to secure clear evidence, further raising expectations for digital forensic technology.

Amid this, interest is growing in the digital forensic specialized institution 'KDFT Korea Digital Forensic Technology Standard Institute' (hereinafter KDFT), which leads the domestic ICT market based on outstanding technical skills and diverse references.

KDFT is a digital forensic investigation cooperation agency operated by one of only two 'special appraisers' registered with the Supreme Court in Korea. Since providing data recovery services in 1999, it has pioneered the domestic digital forensic field since 2008.

Starting with the development of mobile phone data analysis and restoration technology in 2008, followed by the development of the digital evidence analysis Auto Finder device in 2009, the digital evidence analysis JTAG automatic connection device in 2010, and the MOBILE COPS mobile phone recovery solution, KDFT has continuously devoted itself to digital forensic technology development research, striving for the advancement of domestic digital forensic technology. Additionally, to revitalize the domestic digital forensic service market, it provides systematic and professional educational services on disk forensic techniques, mobile forensics, network forensic techniques, and procedures.

Regarding the growth potential and business outlook of the domestic digital forensic market, KDFT CEO and Supreme Court-registered special appraiser Choi Gyu-jong stated, “While the global digital forensic market continues to grow annually, the domestic digital forensic market accounts for only about 1% of the global market. To improve the domestic digital forensic service industry, it is a crucial time to establish a cooperative infrastructure between the government and private companies. If active financial and technical support from related institutions accompanies private companies, it could lead to qualitative improvements in domestic digital forensic services.” He added, “At this moment when investment calls are coming from various sectors, KDFT aims to expand domestic digital forensic services, focus on nurturing talent, and extend its business into overseas digital forensic service areas.”