Investigating Potential Intellectual Property Theft: A Digital Forensics Case Study in a High-Tech Manufacturing Company

For Business, For Legal Professionals, For MSP’s | 20 Mar 2023

A case study on work that Notion Digital Forensics have completed.

Overview

This investigation examined allegations that an employee unlawfully obtained valuable company designs during organizational restructuring. The employee’s laptop underwent forensic analysis, which uncovered evidence of data destruction and device tampering.

Objectives

The primary goals were to establish whether unauthorized design acquisition occurred and to identify any evidence tampering or data erasure attempts on the employee’s computer.

Methodology

Notion Digital Forensics conducted comprehensive forensic examination of the employee’s laptop alongside cloud-based evidence sources. The investigation targeted signs of unauthorized design downloads and evidence of intentional data destruction or tampering.

Key Findings

The forensic analysis revealed the laptop had been wiped. Investigators determined the device’s clock settings had been manipulated to obscure the erasure timeline, though they successfully established the probable erasure timeframe.

Conclusion

Evidence emerged demonstrating the employee attempted data destruction and clock manipulation. This finding facilitated company negotiations regarding the stolen intellectual property and underscored vulnerabilities in organizational security protocols regarding device erasure prevention and evidence preservation.