Journal profile · Multiple
Forensic Science International-Digital Investigation
ISSN 2666-2817 · ELSEVIER SCI LTD · ENGLAND
Forensic Science International-Digital Investigation: CAS Zone 3 · Computer Science (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 3.18; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,100; review about 129 days (submission to acceptance, publisher); 110 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Forensic Science International-Digital Investigation is published by ELSEVIER SCI LTD and is in Zone 3 of Computer Science in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Digital and Cyber Forensics, Advanced Malware Detection Techniques and Digital Media Forensic Detection, together about 58.7% of its articles. Its main subfields are Information Systems. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
FSI Digital Investigation covers a broad array of subjects related to crime and security throughout the computerized world. The primary pillar of this publication is digital evidence and multimedia, with the core qualities of provenance, integrity and authenticity. This publication promotes advances in investigating cybercrimes, cyberattacks and traditional crimes involving digital evidence, using scientific practices in digital investigations, and reducing the use of technology for criminal purposes.This widely referenced publication promotes innovations and advances in utilizing digital evidence and multimedia for legal purposes, including criminal justice, incident response, cybercrime analysis, cyber-risk management, civil and regulatory matters, and privacy protection. Relevant research areas include forensic science, computer science, data science, artificial intelligence, and smart technology.This journal is used by investigative agencies and forensic laboratories, computer security teams, practitioners, researchers, developers, and lawyers from industry, law enforcement, government, academia, and the military to share their knowledge and experiences, including current challenges and lessons learned in the following areas:Research and development: Novel research and development in forensic science, computer science, data science, and artificial intelligence applied to digital evidence and multimedia. New methods to deal with challenges in digital investigations, including applied research into analysing digital evidence and multimedia, exploiting specific technologies, and into preparing for and responding to computer security incidents.Cyber-criminal investigation: develop new methods of online investigation and analysis of financially motivated cyber-crime such as banking Trojans, phishing, ransomware and other forms of cyber-fraud. In addition, researching future criminal activity involving peer-to-peer payments and crypto currencies.Hardware Forensics: develop new methods of extracting and analyzing evidence from electronic hardware. This includes analyzing IoT devices, embedded systems, industrial control systems, automobiles, and other systems requiring hardware component access to extract data (e.g., chip-off, debugging interfaces like JTAG, fault injection).Cyber-risk management: Improved ways of using digital evidence to address security breaches involving information systems, methods to find zero day attacks and to perform cyber threat int
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Multiple
Editor-in-chief Zeno GeradtsPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United States 32, United Kingdom 16, Netherlands 12, Australia 7, Germany 5 (105 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Digital and Cyber ForensicsComputer Science27.5%
- Advanced Malware Detection TechniquesComputer Science18.8%
- Digital Media Forensic DetectionComputer Science12.4%
- User Authentication and Security SystemsComputer Science3.9%
- Diverse Scientific and Economic StudiesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance3.8%
- Cybercrime and Law Enforcement StudiesComputer Science2.8%
- Security and Verification in ComputingComputer Science2.7%
- Advanced Steganography and Watermarking TechniquesComputer Science2.6%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Computer Science Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Computer Science | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Computer Science, Information Systems | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Computer Science, Interdisciplinary Applications | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Computer Science Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Computer Science | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Computer Science, Information Systems | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Computer Science, Interdisciplinary Applications | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Medicine Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Computer Science, Information Systems | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Computer Science, Interdisciplinary Applications | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 3.18LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 3.1Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 6.7LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 6.7Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.86LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.38LetPub ·
- h-index
- 33OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 196OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.65OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 29%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 72.18%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 89LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 772 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 111 | 71 | 12 |
| 2025 | 110 | 74 | 209 |
| 2024 | 112 | 78 | 661 |
| 2023 | 105 | 63 | 732 |
| 2022 | 108 | 59 | 960 |
| 2021 | 120 | 60 | 1,506 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Publisher-reported review time from the journal's website
129 dayssubmission to acceptance
The publisher's own definition applies; dates from this journal's articles in the last 24 months are not available yet, so the publisher's figure is used.
Figures by source
- Submission to first decision
- 3 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 61 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 129 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 78 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Single anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 3,100 / EUR 2,900 / GBP 2,480 / JPY 384,490 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
What to prepare5 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 250 words
- Keywords
- 1–7
- Reference style
- Numbered, in order of citation
- Highlights
- Optional
- Graphical abstract
- Optional
Article types accepted13
- application analysisApplication analysis: Novel approaches to analysing applications on mobile devices and computers from a digital forensic perspective.Length not stated
- case notesCase Notes: Brief investigative case studies with practical examples of how digital evidence is being used in digital investigations, forensic analysis, and inc…Length not stated
- cyber-criminal investigationCyber-criminal investigation: develop new methods of online investigation and analysis of financially motivated cyber-crime such as banking Trojans, phishing, r…Length not stated
- cyber-risk managementCyber-risk management: Improved ways of using digital evidence to address security breaches involving information systems, methods to find zero day attacks and …Length not stated
- effective practicesEffective practices: Studies that assess new practices in digital investigations and propose effective approaches to handling and processing digital evidence.Length not stated
- evidence accessibilityEvidence accessibility: exploring safe, fair, and feasible methods of acquiring digital evidence from protected sources such as DRM, encrypted traffic, encrypte…Length not stated
- future challengesFuture challenges: Analysis of new technologies, vulnerabilities and exploits which may create opportunities for criminality and/or computer security incidents,…Length not stated
- hardware forensicsHardware Forensics: develop new methods of extracting and analyzing evidence from electronic hardware.Length not stated
- registered reportsRegistered reports: Studies that assess methods critically, and evaluating the reliability, statistical power, and reproducibility of results.Length not stated
- research and developmentResearch and development: Novel research and development in forensic science, computer science, data science, and artificial intelligence applied to digital evi…Length not stated
- scientific practicesScientific practices: Novel approaches to strengthening the scientific foundation and rigor of digital investigations, and to increasing the reliability of and …Length not stated
- survey papersSurvey papers: Discussion of current methods and future needs relevant to digital investigations, including analysing digital evidence and multimedia from compu…Length not stated
- tool reviewsTool reviews: Evaluation and comparison of specialized software and hardware used to preserve, survey, examine, analyse or present digital evidence and multimed…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Preprints
- AI use Declaration of generative AI use
Authors must declare the use of generative AI tools in the manuscript preparation process upon submission of the paper.Generative AI and AI-assisted technologies (“AI tools”) have been rapidly adopted in research and scholarly publishing, offering significant benefits while requiring clear standards for responsible and transparent use.Authors preparing a manuscript for this journal may use AI tool…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Group authorship
General methods for detecting forgery in digital photographs or videos are out of scope and rejected without review. Model summary
Group authorship refers to the attribution of an article to a defined and named group of authors whose members have contributed to the work. Examples include research consortia, clinical trial groups, collaborative networks, task forces or working groups, expert panels or consensus groups, and participatory research groups. Group authorship must be declared on the title page at submission. When av…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Declaration of competing interests
All authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence or bias their work. Examples of potential competing interests include:EmploymentConsultanciesStock ownershipHonorariaPaid expert testimonyPatent applications or registrationsGrants or any other fundingAffiliation with the journal as an Editor or Advisory Board …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics
Ethics in publishing Model summary
Authors must follow ethical guidelines stated in Elsevier's Publishing Ethics Policy.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright License options
Jurisdictional claims Model summary
Authors will be offered open access user license options which will determine how you, and third parties, can reuse your open access article. We advise that you review these options and any funding body license requirements before selecting a license option.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access
We refer you to our open access information page to learn about open access options for this journal.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review
Single anonymized review process Model summary
This journal follows a single anonymized review process. Your submission will initially be assessed by our editors. If your submission is deemed suitable, it will typically be sent to be reviewed by a minimum of two reviewers for an independent expert assessment of the scientific quality. The decision as to whether your article is accepted or rejected for publication will be made by our editors.Re…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprints
Preprint sharing allowed Model summary
Preprint sharingAuthors may share preprints in line with Elsevier's article sharing policy. Sharing preprints, such as on a preprint server, will not count as prior publication.We advise you to read our policy on multiple, redundant or concurrent publication. In support of Open Science, this journal offers its authors a free preprint posting service on SSRN, Elsevier’s preprint and early research …
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- ELSEVIER SCI LTD
- Country or region
- ENGLAND
- ISSN
- 2666-2817
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Forensic Science International-Digital Investigation
What CAS zone is Forensic Science International-Digital Investigation in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Forensic Science International-Digital Investigation is in Zone 3 of Computer Science, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Computer Science, Information Systems / Computer Science, Interdisciplinary Applications. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Computer Science. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Forensic Science International-Digital Investigation?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 3.18; CiteScore 6.7, h-index 33.
How long does peer review take at Forensic Science International-Digital Investigation?
The publisher reports about 129 days (submission to acceptance). Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of Forensic Science International-Digital Investigation?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 250 words; Keywords: 1–7; Reference style: Numbered, in order of citation; Highlights: Optional; Graphical abstract: Optional. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Forensic Science International-Digital Investigation based?
Of the 105 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (32), United Kingdom (16) and Netherlands (12). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Forensic Science International-Digital Investigation?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Forensic Science International-Digital Investigation is indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Is Forensic Science International-Digital Investigation open access, and what is the APC?
Forensic Science International-Digital Investigation is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,100.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-26). Last updated: .