Defensible Deletion

We are regularly brought in for situations when an executive hops from one company to another, and takes data with them on the way out the door. Sometimes we conduct the internal investigation which uncovers the data theft (politely called data exfiltration), other times we assist with the clean-up.

Here is a story which, I hope, will illustrate how messy these clean-ups can be.

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Cyber Insurance & Backups: Use it or Lose it

I'm the guy that actually reads the insurance policy text. So, our policy renewal arrives in the mail yesterday and I read it.

The part about "Cyber Protection" catches my eye - we are in that business after all. Intact, our insurer, offers a program they have trademarked called "my Identity". Among other things it includes up to $25K for Cyber Protection. What's that?, you might well ask….

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Persuasion - It Is All About The Timeline

Persuasion.  The ability to persuade is one of the 'core competencies' of a litigator.  You spend your life honing the skill.  You turn an ability into an income and a lifestyle.

You are a story-teller.  Stories persuade.  All the affidavits, discoveries, cross-examinations, transcripts, exhibits, motions, factums, testimony, and your stirring closings are there to tell the story.

The best stories draw us in.

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Steve Ellwood
Beyond the What - Getting to Why

Knowing "What" is important.  It is a 'necessary but not sufficient condition' to take a page from our mathematician friends.  We are brought in to investigate to find the "Why". Yet so many investigative reports we read stop short and simply present the "What".

Let me explain.

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Steve Ellwood
EDRM - A 4-Letter Word You Need To Know

It’s not really a word. It's an acronym. But you still need to know it.

The EDRM. The Electronic Discovery Reference Model. If you are in business, you need to know about it. If you are a lawyer you need to know about it. Which means: most people need to know about the EDRM.

Why? Let’s begin with what.

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Matthew EllwoodComment
Digital Evidence, Departing Employees, Overdue Awareness

A recent Law Technology News article by Vancouver journalist/lawyer Marlisse Silver Sweeney focuses on gathering digital evidence from departed employees.

Now, best practice demands that employers have a protocol for gathering digital evidence at the moment an employee leaves. Otherwise, the ex post facto gathering of evidence is closing the barn door after the horse has left.

But, setting aside this concern, the main point of Ms. Sweeney’s piece is that ex-employees will likely have data - i.e. digital evidence - in more places than the obvious ones.

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Matthew EllwoodComment
Electronic Evidence's Best Kept Secret

Don’t let the gawky handle fool you. CGSB-72.34-2005 is hugely important. It’s the document from the Canadian Government’s Canadian General Standards Board (i.e. the CGSB) titled *Electronic Records as Documentary Evidence*, and the standards it sets out apply to everyone. Public sector, private sector. For profit, not for profit. People, corporations.

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Steve EllwoodComment