Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
they.asked.the.company.IT.staff.if.they.had.a.backup.system.
in.place..The.IT.person.explained.that.yes,.indeed.they.did..
Their.process.was.to.take.laptops.that.they.were.no.longer.
using.and.back.up.all.of.the.important.documentation.onto.
those. laptops. once. a. month.. Then. they. would. store. those.
laptops.in.their.warehouse.
Now,.this.was.a.relatively.large.organization.with.a.lot.of.
different.departments,.all.of.which.followed.this.rather.unique.
process. for. archiving. records.. The. consultants. asked. to. be.
shown.the.warehouse.
Imagine.the.looks.on.their.faces.when.they.were.shown.
a.rather.large.room.stacked.with.laptops.with.no.labels,.no.
indexing.or.organizing.system,.and.not.even.a.dating.proce-
dure..They.obviously.had.their.work.cut.out.for.them.
The. reason. this. organization. called. on. these. contractors.
was.because.they.had.recently.been.sued.and.their.attorneys.
had.informed.them.that.they.might.be.responsible.for.produc-
ing.archival.information.about.their.company.and.its.practices.
It.would.probably.be.realistic.for.them.to.claim.that.data.
were.not.reasonably.accessible,.don't.you.agree?.Yet,.I.can.
almost.promise.you.that.this.is.a.case.where.the.courts.would.
come.down.on.the.side.of.their.opposition.if.the.data.were.
considered.important.to.the.case..The.courts.would.be.very.
likely. to. expect. this. organization. to. accept. the. burden. of.
whatever.costs.and.resources.were.required.in.order.to.locate,.
preserve. and. produce. that. electronic. evidence.. And. that. is.
simply.due.to.their.poor.practices.
Again,.this.is.something.to.be.cognizant.of.as.you.discuss.
this.in.your.organization..Be.sure.you.are.following.accepted.
best.practices.for.your.records.management.and.that.every-
one.in.your.organization.is.aware.of.those.practices.and.fol-
lowing.them.carefully.
If.you.happen.to.be.the.requesting.party.in.a.case.similar.to.
this,.it.can.be.to.your.beneit.to.have.quality.computer.forensic.
resources. either. in. house. or. by. contract.. We. discuss. foren-
sics.procedures.and.capabilities.later.in.the.topic..That.may.
give.you.an.advantage.over.your.opponents.by.virtue.of.your.
