Digital Evidence: Plan of Action

Introduction

This paper outlines the approach for examining digital evidence related to a suspected violation of company policy. It presents senior management with a plan for collecting and maximizing evidence in the case of John Smith, accused of digital IP theft. The methods described are grounded in forensic best practices and standards.

Strategy for Maximizing Evidence Collection and Minimizing Impact

Based on the standards of ISO/IEC 27037 and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication 800-86, the strategy should begin with an initial assessment and containment. First, there needs to be a clear understanding of the scope of the potential breach. That means knowing exactly what John Smith did and how he did it.

The first step, in accordance with ISO/IEC 27037:2012 (regarding identification, collection, and preservation of evidence), then is to discreetly monitor John Smith's digital activities and pinpoint the devices he uses or has used. This stage of the investigation should be kept strictly confidential, and involve only key personnel, so as to prevent the suspect from becoming alarmed or attempting to hide his tracks (Ajijola et al., 2014).

Second, an important component of our strategy is maintaining a rigorous chain of custody, in accordance with the same standard (Ajijola et al., 2014). Every piece of evidence that is collected should be documented, with information on who handled it, when it was handled, the location, and the purpose. Documentation of the chain of custody helps to maintain the integrity of the evidence, which will be of crucial importance when it comes to admissibility in court.

Tools and Techniques for Evidence Gathering, Preparation, and Analysis

Again, drawing from the NIST Special Publication 800-86 and this time ISO/IEC 27041:2015 (pertaining to selection of the right digital forensic tools and approaches), the team will use a range of specialized tools and techniques, including disk imaging tools, such as FTK Imager or EnCase (Shah et al., 2017). These tools can create bit-by-bit copies of the suspect's hard drivesthat way, the original data remains untouched. As for capturing data from a system that is already currently running, tools such as Memoryze can be used (Dykstra & Sherman, 2012). Likewise, Splunk can be used to analyze logs from different systems to trace unauthorized access or where data transfers have taken place (helpful in showing digital footsteps of wrongdoing) (Barath, 2016). In instances where there is a need to recover deleted files and analyze them for evidence, Autopsy will be of use (Kolla, 2022). Lastly, if data exfiltration is suspected, network monitoring tools like Wireshark should be used to dissect network traffic (Burschka & Dupasquier, 2016)

Collection and Preservation of Evidence

Adhering to the standards set by ISO/IEC 27037:2012, the collection and preservation of evidence should be approached with tremendous caution and...…it would show that the conclusions of the investigation are not solely based on the team's perspective but that they have also been vetted and verified by an independent third party.

Presentation to Senior Management

When it comes to presenting the case details and conclusions to senior management, clarity and relevance are paramount. The presentation should begin with an executive summary, succinctly highlighting the key findings and conclusions, enabling senior management to quickly understand the investigation's core. This should be followed by a detailed chronological account of the entire investigation. The point here is to make it all as easy as possible to follow. It should be devoid of excessive technical jargon. Based on the findings, the presentation should also include recommendations, which could touch on potential legal actions, policy modifications, or security enhancements that the company might want to consider implementing so as to deter future theft of this kind. Concluding the presentation, a question and answer session could be accommodated, so as to give senior management a chance to obtain clarifications about the case or explore specific areas of interest further.

Conclusion

In the process of examining seized evidence, drawing informed conclusions, and strategizing the presentation to senior management, the emphasis should be on accuracy, transparency, and adherence to best practices. The approach described in this paper should help an investigation by giving senior management the guidelines needed to make informed…