A Conceptual Framework for Database Anti-forensics Impact Mitigation

The emergence of databases has become one of the most important achievements in the field of software. Databases are at the core of information systems (Online and Offline), and this has fundamentally made them a target for malicious intents because they contain sensitive information. Digital forensics tends to outwit such malicious activities by providing provable evidence for prosecution. On the other hand, criminals develop and promote counter forensic measures to reduce the quality and quantity of forensic data known as “Anti-forensics”. Such counter measures tend to jeopardize forensics efforts at all stages to ensure that court admissible evidences are not acquired. The aim of this paper is to explore database anti-forensics agents, highlight the challenges and or negative effects they pose at various stages of the database forensics processes, present a taxonomy for database anti-forensics impacts, provide recommendations on how these impacts can be mitigated, and directions for future research opportunities.