Regulatory and Forensic Frameworks for Investigating Cyberattacks on Critical Digital Infrastructure
Keywords:
Critical Digital Infrastructure, Cyber Law, Digital Forensics, Cyberattack Investigation, Regulatory Compliance, Cybersecurity Governance, Incident Response, Evidence Preservation, Critical Infrastructure Protection, Cybercrime Investigation.Abstract
Critical digital infrastructure (CDI), such as energy networks, healthcare systems, transportation systems, financial services, and
government information systems, has become more exposed to advanced cyberattacks like ransomware, supply-chain attacks,
advanced persistent threats (APTs), and distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks. Such cases cannot be investigated simply
with technically oriented forensic skills, and there is a need to adhere to the intricate legal and regulatory standards. Nonetheless,
the current solutions would tend to focus on digital forensics and regulatory frameworks individually, which causes difficulties in
preserving evidence, its admissibility in court, management of compliance, and inter-country inquiries. This paper looks at the
combination of regulatory and forensic measures to probe cyberattacks on critical digital infrastructure. The qualitative research
approach was chosen, which included the examination of the significant cybersecurity rules and digital forensic standards as
well as analyses of three case studies of cyberattacks (Colonial Pipeline, SolarWinds, and WannaCry). Each gap is addressed by
offering an Integrated Regulatory–Forensic Investigation Framework (IRFIF) to bring incident reporting, evidence preservation,
forensic analysis, compliance verification, and legal review together as a single investigation. The framework is assessed by using
comparative case-study validation within the energy sector, government sector and the healthcare sector. It has been found that
a combination of regulatory duty and forensic best practice enhances the integrity of evidence, makes it more legally defensible,
makes it more regulatory compliant and enables incident response to be more effective. The suggested framework offers a
systematic way to the policymakers, law enforcement agencies, forensic investigators, and operators of vital infrastructure to
enhance their capabilities to investigate cyberattacks and build cyber resilience within an increasingly intricate online setting.
