The Digital Forensics Files Podcast

The Digital Forensics Files Podcast

By Tyler Hatch, B.A., LL.B.Technology
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The Digital Forensics Files Podcast episodes

  • Digital Marketing and Internet Sales Specialist Daryl Oberg of AYD Internet Marketing

    EP 06 - Digital Marketing and Internet Sales Consultant

    Daryl Oberg | AYD Internet Marketing

    Website development, paid ad campaign management and search engine optimization (SEO) are a few ways that most businesses connect with customers.  It's specialized and it's not a DIY project that most entrepreneurs should undertake.  Daryl Oberg discusses his thoughts on using the internet and technology to allow entrepreneurs to reach customers, generate sales and reinvest that revenue into the company's brand through high level digital marketing.  Daryl Oberg can be reached at [email protected] and his Facebook groups are a must for Langley, B.C. entrepreneurs looking to network and get referrals!

    Discussing privacy and the balance between privacy and a valuable consumer experience was a fascinating topic.

    18 min
  • Employment Lawyer Chris Drinovz Discusses Law, Workplace Disputes and Digital Forensics

    On this episode of the Digital Forensics Files Podcast, Tyler Hatch of DFI Forensics Inc. is joined by Chris Drinovz, senior employment lawyer with Kane Shannon Weiller LLP.  Chris has a varied workplace law practice involving all areas of employment, labour and workplace disputes.  He discusses other dispute forums, such as Human Rights Tribunals and WorkSafe BC cases.

    Harassment cases can often involve evidence of the act being found on a digital device such as a computer or cell phone.  

    If you're an employee who has been wrongfully dismissed or a employer with questions about workplace policies and/or disputes, reach out to Chris Drinovz and the team at Kane Shannon Weiller LLP serving the needs of the Fraser Valley, in British Columbia, Canada.

    13 min
  • Tech Talk With The Vegan Financial Advisor, Justin Manning
    Justin Manning, The Vegan Financial Advisor (https://justinmanning.com), stops by to talk about his role as a professional financial advisor and his decision to embrace a Vegan lifestyle.
    We discuss the use of technology in Justin's business and how he uses Advisor Stream and his top notch CRM to serve his clients more effectively.
    Finally, we discuss Justin's focus on protecting the sensitive information of his clients in his practice and what steps he and his organization follow to ensure that information is not exposed in a cyber attack or data breach.
    9 min
  • Top 5 Tips For Lawyers To Follow When Engaging A Digital Forensics Expert

    Hiring an expert isn't always easy.  In my experience, many lawyers don't have a digital forensics team that they routinely work with.  While the need is increasing as interactions with technology results in more sources of evidence to explore, it's not a regular need for many lawyers' practices.

    So, off to Google lawyers go and the search begins.  Most of time, it works out okay, but when it doesn't the consequences can be significant. 

    Here are five tips for lawyers to follow when engaging a digital forensics expert in a lawsuit:

    1. What's in a name? Perhaps everything - if it's clearly not what you're looking for.  If you're contacting the "Geek Squad" or "Nerds R Us" to be your digital forensics specialist, you are probably not going to find what you're looking for.  Legitimate experts don't use business names like this.
    2. Look for a "forensics" expert! Professionals in this industry either explicitly use the term forensics or identify with it.  The very word "forensics" is derived from language that means "for use in court".  Following strict protocols to ensure admissibility of evidence and verifiable findings is the name of the game so don't take chances with someone who calls themselves something like an "IT specialist" without ensuring they are what you need.
    3. Get a CV Ensuring that your expert has specialized training, knowledge and experience is the very thing that permits an expert to be exempted from the evidentiary rule against providing an opinion as opposed to a statement of fact.  This may seem like common sense, but I have seen so-called "experts" engaged without being asked for a CV or any explanation of their qualifications.
    4. The right tool matters. Ensure your digital forensics expert has the right tools for the job and ask them to explain what they will be using and why they are necessary.  I would even recommend asking if there are other tools available and why they use what they use.  You want to ensure the highest quality tool is used for best results.  There are hardware tools and specialized forensic software that relates to the proper acquisition of electronic evidence and subsequent analysis.
    5. Know the limitations of a digital forensics investigation before you hire your expert.  Nothing is certain in digital forensics and you never truly know what you are going to find until you acquire and analyze the evidence.  However, everyone should know that from the start.  If you are engaging an expert to determine a fact, it's important to know the variables that affect the outcome and to what degree there is a chance that the investigation will be unfruitful.  A true professional digital forensics expert will explain the benefits of an investigation and advise of known possible outcomes - including negative ones - to allow you to make an informed decision.

      6. See also, Tyler's latest feature AdvocateDaily.com post on this subject here.

      17 min
    6. Top Five Things To Do When You Detect A Cyber Attack!

      Cyber attacks on business and government organizations are exceedingly common these days.  Not all cyber attacks are or result in a data breach.  More often than not, the objective is to encrypt the victim's IT network and demand that a ransom be paid in order to have the data decrypted.

      The top five things to do when you detect a cyber attack:

      1. Leave devices running and keep systems functioning and online.  You've already been compromised so you might as well provide an opportunity to the forensics responders to collect the available evidence before contaminating the scene.  Without evidence, there is little that we can determine in the aftermath of a cyber attack.  It is very important to understand precisely what occurred and how in order to prevent it from happening again.
      2. Contact the privacy and data breach lawyer that is part of your incident response plan. Your organization may be facing liability for exposing client data during a cyber attack so it's best to have a qualified and experienced lawyer involved from the start.   
      3. Have your lawyer (see #2!) engage a digital forensics team to collect evidence and respond to the attack.  A qualified incident response team will contain and eradicate the threat or malicious attacker.  Further, and perhaps most importantly, when engaged by your lawyer, all work, evidence and findings by your digital forensics team are protected under solicitor client privilege.  This prevents it from being used against your organization down the road if there is a lawsuit or class action claim.
      4. Report the matter to your cyber insurance provider, if coverage is in place.  Hopefully, you have coverage for the potential enormous losses that can flow from a cyber attack.  It is always recommended that you put your insurer on notice of a potential claim early. 
      5. Conduct a full and thorough investigation following a cyber attack.  Learn what happened in order to avoid having it happen again.  Changes may be required to your IT network.  Your personnel may need to be made more aware of risks related to cyber crime and your incident response plan may require updating following an attack.  This is only possible if you know what happened.

        6. For more information on Cyber Security and Incident Response Plans, contact DFI Forensics Inc.  If you need a contact for cyber insurance or an incident response lawyer, we can provide one in any North American area.

        11 min
      6. Introduction to the Podcast: What is digital forensics anyways?

        When I tell people that I have my own digital forensics firm, they generally say, "Cool!!", then immediately ask, "What does that mean?"

        People don't tend to know what exactly digital forensics is until they have a need for our services.  In the case of lawyers, many of them are thankful they have someone to use after they've experienced a properly and professionally conducted digital forensics investigation.  

        With that being said, let's jump into what digital forensics is and set the stage for the topics and format of The Digital Forensics Files Podcast!

        Digital forensics is an investigative process in which digital forensics examiners collect evidence from electronic devices and digital sources and examine the evidence to determine a fact or set of facts, often in the context of computer crime or unlawful activity, for which the findings are reported to clients and/or presented in Court.

        Sources of evidence often include computers, cell phones, tablets, servers, email accounts, mobile device app data (Facebook etc.), cloud accounts/storage and the internet.

        Digital forensics examiners use digital evidence to answer  "who", "what", "where", "when", "how" and "why" during an investigation and report the findings to a client.  Sometimes, the findings and evidence needs to be presented in Court during a criminal or civil trial.

        My name is Tyler Hatch and I am hosting this podcast.  I am a former litigation lawyer, who practiced in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, prior to becoming a certified mobile and computer forensics examiner.  In July, 2018, I founded my own digital forensics and incident response firm, DFI Forensics Inc.  We serve clients across Canada and in the U.S. and have offices in Vancouver, Langley, Calgary and Toronto. 

        I hope you enjoy the podcast and provide lots of feedback to make it better!  Guest requests are welcome and can be submitted to [email protected].

        23 min

      About The Digital Forensics Files Podcast

      From the publisher's feed

      Discussions with industry professionals and lawyers who use our services on the latest developments and news in digital forensics, digital evidence, privacy and data security law and cyber security/incident response.