Anti-forensics includes a growing set of techniques designed to obstruct forensic analysis. While cybercriminals increasingly rely on these methods, they also help researchers identify and remedy weaknesses in forensic tools, advancing the overall robustness of digital forensics. Despite repeated efforts to define it, anti-forensics remains vague and inconsistent in its use. It also poses ethical challenges regarding the appropriateness of research practices and the legitimacy of the field itself. This article presents a systematic analysis of 123 publications on anti-forensics, combining qualitative and quantitative methods. We quantify the main techniques and attack vectors, examine their occurrence in different digital forensic subdomains, and identify typical research methods, motivations, and applications. This work also discusses what these findings mean for future research and proposes directions for building a more coherent and ethically grounded understanding of anti-forensics.

翻译：反取证包含一系列旨在阻碍取证分析的技术手段。尽管网络犯罪分子日益依赖这些方法，但它们也帮助研究者识别并弥补取证工具的弱点，从而提升数字取证的整体鲁棒性。尽管学界多次尝试对其进行定义，但"反取证"这一概念在应用中仍显模糊且缺乏一致性。此外，该领域还面临伦理挑战：研究实践的适当性及学科本身的合法性均存争议。本文结合定性与定量方法，对123篇反取证相关文献进行系统分析。我们量化了主要技术与攻击向量，考察其在数字取证不同子领域中的出现频率，并识别典型研究方法、动机与应用场景。本研究还探讨了上述发现对未来研究的意义，并提出构建更连贯且具伦理基础的反取证认知体系的发展方向。