(as
published in the Western Business Journal, Spring, 2005)
The explosion in computer use has created a vast amount of electronic information. The availability of electronic information can have important ramifications to a business. The importance of electronic information arises because it is long lasting, potentially discoverable in a lawsuit, and very expensive to recover. As a consequence, it is important for businesses and individual computer users to realize what electronic information remains available for possible forensic recovery and to manage that information through a corporate policy which addresses the retention of electronic information.
Electronic information is stored in a variety of places. While primarily stored on individual computer hard drives, it is also stored on network backup tapes, and it is potentially stored on PDAs, cell phones, Blackberries, and "keychain" or "flash" drives, just to name a few places. A computer user needs to realize that a computer basically stores on its hard drive everything it sees. A computer user should also realize that "delete" in the computer context does not mean delete as most people use the term. When an user hits the "delete" button to remove an email or word processing file, the file is not permanently erased from the computer at that time. Instead, the file name is removed, and the computer is "told" it can record over the file space if needed. Whether the file is actually recorded over or not is dependent upon a number of factors, including the size of the hard drive involved, how much use the hard drive gets, and how long ago the user "deleted" the file.
To manage electronic information, a business should have a solid email/internet use policy. Employees should be informed that use of the company's computers is not private and information on them may be discoverable in a lawsuit. A business should also adopt and enforce policies specific to the preservation of electronic information. Policies should be adopted specifying how often users should delete electronic information, particularly emails, and what types of electronic information should be or can be preserved or archived for future use.
The Moulton Law Firm has experienced and skilled attorneys who can handle all aspects of electronic information, including complex litigation involving the preservation, production, and recovery of relevant electronic information.
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