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Case Study: Forensics Info Misappropriation 

Ricoh’s Forensic expertise foils a departing executive’s attempt to steal company information.

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Challenge

 

Challenge

 
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We were approached to help prevent a company’s former senior executive from misappropriating confidential and proprietary information for use with his new employer. Time was of the essence, as the former company was concerned about the confidential information being put to immediate use. They turned to experts at Ricoh Forensics to perform a forensic analysis on the former employee's laptop to see if any evidence of misappropriation existed.

With the first private computer forensics lab accredited by the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors/Laboratory Accreditation Board — as well 60 years of combined experience between our forensics experts and licensed PI's — we were more than ready for the challenge.

 
 
 

Solution

 

Solution

 
 

Our forensic team performed a full investigation by acquiring a forensic image of the laptop. 

 
 
A subsequent analysis showed that, on the eve of the former executive's departure, he had searched for "data destruction" on the internet. Afterward, he purchased and downloaded software specifically designed to securely erase electronically stored information (ESI) from a computer by overwriting it — rendering it unrecoverable.

The analysis also revealed use of an external hard drive, and an attempt to delete files after a copy was made of them. The company asked our forensic expert to perform additional analysis on the laptop and attempt to recover any of the deleted and overwritten ESI. By looking at hidden content stored as part of the laptop’s operating system backup files, our experts located and recovered hidden versions of all of the ESI. They were also able to trace the former employee's almost every move, catching him in the act of misappropriating information.
 
 

About the customer

The customer is a major manufacturing company in the energy industry.

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Download PDF
 
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Result

Our forensic expert detailed the scientific methodology employed and the forensic evidence of misappropriation. 

With our help, the company successfully demonstrated that the former employee had intentionally engaged in the destruction of evidence, and he was further banned from using any of the confidential and proprietary information he had attempted to misappropriate. Not only was the company's confidential information preserved, but they also received a substantial settlement in their favor.