Digital data is information stored or transmitted electronically, such as emails, cloud files, chat messages, logs, metadata, or database records. Because it exists in machine-readable form, it can be copied, searched, preserved, or analyzed much faster than paper records, and it can be used as evidence in a legal proceeding.
In cyber security, digital data matters because it is often the main target of attacks and investigations. Threat actors may steal, encrypt, alter, or delete it, while defenders need to preserve it intact for incident response, forensics, and compliance. Good handling means using access controls, retention policies, secure logging, and chain-of-custody practices so the data remains trustworthy. In legal requests, such as production or preservation orders, organizations must identify the right records quickly and avoid changing them unnecessarily.