NIST Cloud Computing Forensic Reference Architecture

Published

July 30, 2024

Author(s)

Martin Herman, Michaela Iorga, Ahsen Michael Salim, Robert H. Jackson, Mark R. Hurst, Ross A. Leo, Anand Kumar Mishra, Nancy M. Landreville, Yien Wang

Abstract

This document summarizes the research performed by the NIST Cloud Computing Forensic Science Working Group and presents the NIST Cloud Computing Forensic Reference Architecture (CC FRA or FRA), whose goal is to provide support for a cloud system's forensic readiness. The CC FRA helps users understand the cloud forensic challenges that might exist for an organization's cloud system. It identifies challenges that require at least partial mitigation strategies and how a forensic investigator would apply those strategies to a particular forensic investigation. The CC FRA presented here is both a methodology and an initial implementation. Users are encouraged to customize this initial implementation for their specific situations and needs.

Citation

Special Publication (NIST SP) - 800-201

Report Number

800-201

NIST Pub Series

Special Publication (NIST SP)

Pub Type

NIST Pubs

Download Paper

https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.SP.800-201

Local Download

Keywords

civil litigation, criminal investigation, cybersecurity, digital forensics, enterprise architecture, enterprise operations, forensic readiness, incident response

Citation

Herman, M. , Iorga, M. , Salim, A. , Jackson, R. , Hurst, M. , Leo, R. , Mishra, A. , Landreville, N. and Wang, Y. (2024), NIST Cloud Computing Forensic Reference Architecture, Special Publication (NIST SP), National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, [online], https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.SP.800-201, https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=957962 (Accessed October 9, 2025)