Artifact analysis is a cybersecurity process that involves the systematic examination of digital remnants generated by systems, networks, applications, and user activities. These artifacts include log files, memory dumps, disk images, network traffic captures, registry entries, and cloud-specific data such as API calls, activity logs, and audit trails from platform services.

In cloud and architecture security, artifact analysis is essential for uncovering evidence of malicious activity, identifying system vulnerabilities, and understanding the scope of security incidents. Security professionals use this process to reconstruct event timelines, pinpoint attack vectors, detect indicators of compromise, and evaluate security controls. Beyond reactive incident response, artifact analysis supports proactive threat hunting and continuous security improvement, strengthening an organization's resilience against sophisticated cyber threats.