The aim of this article is to point out the key features of e-Discovery and its potential importance to the future of collecting evidence to aid in the investigation of cases.
E-discovery refers to the discovery in civil litigation which deals with the exchange of information in electronic format, with a digital forensics analysis performed to extract evidence. Data is identified as relevant by attorneys and placed on legal hold. Evidence is then extracted and analysed using digital forensic procedures, and is usually converted into PDF or TIFF form for official use inside the court.
It can still be carried out offline on a particular computer or it can be done in a network. A court ordered or government sanctioned hacking for the purpose of obtaining critical evidence is also regarded as a form electronic discovery.
Such is the nature of digital data that makes it extremely well suited to investigation; can be electronically searched with ease in comparison to that of paper documents which has to be physically scrutinized carefully. Besides that, it is also difficult to completely destroy the data, especially if it manages to successfully filtrate into a network; data appears on multiple hard drives plus deleted digital data files can still be retrieved.
Data of all types can serve as concrete evidence and can include the following: text, images, databases, spread sheets, audio files and computer programs. Even malware such as viruses and spyware can be used as materials to be investigated. E-mails can also be a valuable source of evidence in civil or criminal litigation because people are often less careful in these forms of communication than in hard copy ones such as letters and written memos.
Computer forensics is a specialized form of document review whereby investigation is carried out on the contents of a specific computer. Only the hard drive is extracted and copied digitally, after which the computer is sent to be locked up in evidence. As such, all investigation is conducted solely on the digital copy of the hard drive with the original one intact and being locked up so that no one will be able to interfere with the investigation process or alter the results.
E-discovery is widely regarded today as an evolving but yet controversial field that transcends far beyond mere technology, giving rise to multiple complicated socio-political issues that are yet to be resolved nonetheless. However, in spite of all this, the future of e-discovery in civil litigation remains as bright as ever, as it serves to simplify the process of gathering evidence and also at the same time, offering more options in retrieving key evidences that could potentially alter the course of the investigation.