Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
5.6 LEGAL AND FORENSICALLY
SOUND ACQUISITION
This. chapter. has. focused. on. the. idea. of. how. to. locate. and.
recognize.data.and.the.challenges.and.issues.that.can.arise..
Once.you.accomplished.that.task.and.worked.through.all.of.
those.challenges,.you.are.ready.to.acquire.that.information.in.
order.to.organize.it.and.produce.it,.either.for.a.court.proceed-
ing,.some.administrative.or.audit.review,.or.just.as.a.part.of.
your.own.archival.records.management.
No.matter.what.the.reason.for.gathering.that.data,.doing.
so.in.a.forensically.sound.manner.is.a.good.practice.as.it.will.
ensure. that. the. data. you. produce. can. be. proven. to. be. the.
same.data.as.you.started.with.and.have.not.been.manipulated.
or.changed.in.any.way.from.the.original.
We.talked.a.little.earlier.about.some.of.the.tools.that.pro-
fessionals.use.to.accomplish.this.maintenance.of.integrity,.but.
in.this.inal.section.we.will.delve.into.those.more.deeply.and.
give.you.some.practical.policy.rules.that.you.can.incorporate.
into.your.organization's.practices.
As.noted.before,.the.number.one.priority.is.to.maintain.
information.in.its.original.state.and.be.able.to.show.that.you.
have.done.so..To.accomplish.that,.you.should.begin.with.good.
documentation. around. your. records. management. policies..
Much. more. important. than. the. policies,. however,. are. the.
actual.practices.to.which.you.or.your.organization.adhere..In.
every.case,.a.court.is.going.to.want.to.know.and.understand.
what.you.actually.do,.not.so.much.what.you.suggest.you.or.
your.staff.should.be.doing.in.policy.documents.
So,.let's.begin.with.records.management.policy.basics..Of.
course.this.could.be.a.topic.all.by.itself,.so.we.just.hit.some.
main.points.that.you.can.put.into.practice,.and.I.encourage.
you.to.learn.more.and.apply.that.knowledge.to.your.speciic.
needs.and.requirements.
Records.management.policy.should.irst.include.classiica-
tion.of.data..You.and.your.colleagues.and.staff.must.have.a.
