Privacy-Preserving Digital Forensics: Balancing Investigation Needs and User Rights

Modern criminal investigations are important and raise privacy issues in digital forensics. The goal of this study is to develop a privacy-preserving framework for digital forensics that makes it possible to balance effective investigation with individual privacy rights. In this work, we present an innovative framework for privacy-preserving digital forensics, which incorporates data minimization techniques with selective imaging and privacy-preserving data analysis methods. The approach is validated with a collection of case studies and a series of simulations, which show that the approach reduces privacy intrusions while maintaining investigative integrity. Results indicate up to a 40 % reduction in exposure of non-relevant personal data compared to traditional approaches with no loss of evidence collection quality. We recommend how to implement privacy-respecting digital forensic practices to policymakers. This paper adds practical solutions for investigators and legal professionals in ethical digital forensics.