A conceptual framework to determine the digital forensic readiness of a Cloud Service Provider

In the digital age, organisations tend to invest large sums of their finances into technology because of the demand from business to handle their data efficiently. As these organisations grow, ubiquitous systems are required to securely store their big data. Cloud computing has emerged as a solution to this demand for a reliable and cost effective alternative to organisations. However, some organisations are skeptical about cloud computing as an ideal solution because of its pronounced susceptibility of privacy, data leakage and cyber-attacks through virtual networks. Hence, it is pivotal for organisations to have a certain level of confidence in the Cloud Service Provider (CSP) that they select as their cloud vendor. Digital forensic readiness is one of the metrics that organisations can use to measure the CSPs´ ability to thwart cyber-crimes. This paper proposes a framework based on literature and risk analysis techniques that organisations may apply when they want to migrate to the cloud. The proposed framework is a process tool to select a CSP that can provide an organisation with a digital forensic readiness cloud solution.