Electronic discovery, also known as e-discovery refers to a process of how information is obtained, located and secured to be used as evidence in a civil or criminal legal case. E-discovery can be carried out in the following ways:
- Offline
- On a particular computer
- As part of a network
In addition to the above, there is also a type of e-discovery known as government sanctioned hacking, which a court might order for the purpose of obtaining important evidence.E-discovery makes finding information especially easy. Paper evidence can be easily destroyed and is tedious to search, whereas electronic information is next to impossible to destroy, especially if it is stored on a network. The data can be discovered on multiple hard drives and files. Even if it is deleted, it can easily be found, especially if the information is stored in multiple files. The only way to truly destroy electronic evidence is to destroy every hard drive in a system.The process of e-discovery utilizes all forms of data: text, images, calendars, web sites, and computer programs. Even spyware, malware and Trojan horses can be considered pieces of evidence in e-discovery. E mail can be an especially strong piece of evidence as people tend to not be very careful when using it to communicate.In this time of the modern workplace with more and more people working remotely and using their own electronic devices, e-discovery is becoming a quickly evolving field and can stretch across a variety of fields and industries, including but certainly not limited to:
- Information technology (IT)
- Law
- Forensics
- Government
The field of e-discovery is not without debate and controversy, as many feel it is an invasion of privacy to retain information, even if it was work-related material sent from a personal computer.In order to stay on top of the latest trends and advances in the field of e-discovery, it is important to obtain the most up-to-date information. There are many resources available, ranging from books, seminars and classes which can be taken either in the traditional classroom format or online via any number of programs, some of which are free of charge.Professionals can learn about the latest trends in e-discovery via Cybrary IT’s extensive library of cyber security topics. Cybrary’s online training classes offer instruction from qualified Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) who are available to help participants even though this is not a traditional face to face classroom format. Cybary’s resources are free to use and you can take the classes at your own pace since the courses are all available online and study is self-guided. The classes can help professionals in the field add to their breadth of knowledge and/or work towards a specific goal like the
CASP certification. Want to learn more? Point your browser toward towards this short
E-Discovery lesson.
