Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
poor.records.management.practices.or.outright.
spoliation
.(a.
legal.term.meaning.destruction.or.corruption.of.evidence)..In.
that.case,.the.courts.basically.slapped.the.offending.party.by.
requiring.that.they.spend.the.money.and.time.to.acquire.and.
produce.that.evidence.no.matter.how.long.and.expensive.it.
was,.because.it.was.through.their.own.fault.that.the.data.had.
become.inaccessible.
In.many.cases.now,.the.courts.are.requiring.an.accessibility.
log,.just.as.they.are.requiring.a.privilege.log..This.means.that.
they.will.want.clear.documentation.that.justiies.the.assertion.
of.inaccessibility..They.will.want.to.know.about.your.records.
management.policies.and.even.more.important.your.actual.
practices.around.management.of.your.data.
This.is.a.great.lesson.and.a.good.way.to.end.this.section..
In. the. end. it. all. comes. down. to. good. practices. and. careful.
management.of.your.data..Whether.you.are.the.responsible.
party.in.an.organization,.a.legal.professional,.or.just.a.citizen.
in.our.digital.world,.you.are.the.owner.of.digital.data.that.may.
be.needed.in.the.future..You.have.a.responsibility.to.under-
stand.and.document.that.data.in.such.a.way.that.it.is.properly.
classiied,.indexed,.and.protected.against.corruption.or.loss..If.
it.is.conidential.data.it.should.be.classiied.as.such.and.treated.
with.the.correct.practices.that.ensure.it.is.safe.from.exposure.
Whatever.type.or.classiication.of.data.is.within.your.realm.
of.responsibility,.you.are.well.advised.to.manage.it.carefully.
and.understand.where.it.exists.and.how.to.access.it.if.needed..
A.large.part.of.that.management.is.knowing.what.parts.of.
that.data.need.to.be.treated.differently.due.to.their.classiica-
tion.as.privileged,.conidential,.or.sensitive,.or.for.some.rea-
son.inaccessible.
5.4 PROVING OWNERSHIP AND INTEGRITY
One.of.the.biggest.issues.that.can.get.in.the.way.of.electronic.
evidence.being.accepted.in.a.court.of.law.or.any.other.venue.
is. the. ability. (or. lack. thereof). to. prove. who. actually. created.
that.piece.of.evidence.
