Investigative Conclusion and Testimony

With regard to the personal blog that I write regarding digital forensics in my off time, it would be prudent to say that I am not a staunch supporter of law enforcement but rather a staunch believer in following the evidence trail and going where it leads. Therefore, as any person who has taken time to read the blog would conclude almost unanimously, it is the evidence that is presented that leads the law enforcement to the culprits and has the potential of being used to mitigate against the risks of other dangers arising from the same perpetrator of the crime. However, to address the issue of bias and helping law enforcement by choosing to report that which would be beneficial, I would like us to follow the investigation carefully and the inferences drawn from the pieces of evidence gathered. This includes postulating the different scenarios and arguments that can be used in to poke holes in the process (Casey, 2009). Such an analysis, I am sure, would produce an impeccable investigation conducted in accordance to the books as well as the rules and regulations stipulated.

The investigation gave rise to certain issues that are of paramount importance in the case and they include correspondence between Mr Jackson and an unidentified individual whose email is recorded in the evidence presented and also the evidence of Mr Jackson containing the source code in his flash disk which is also known as the thumb drive. In this regard, it may be argued that the rights of Mr Jackson were violated through an unlawful seizure and search of personal property which is against the law. However, our company ensured that the procedure followed in gathering the evidence satisfies not only the prevailing laws as stipulated but also the care taken in providing the paper trail of the investigation aids the court in making its determination (John & Tierney, 2009). Authorization was provided prior to collecting and documenting the evidence found in the workplace of the accused and this included a signed permit by the company as well as procurement of a warrant through the law enforcement and ensuring supervision along the way (Goel, 2009).

Analysis of the laptop left on the desk give credence to the fact that Mr Jackson had copies of the source code emailed to his personal email which is against the company’s policy on intellectual property. Further, company emails are provided to all employees and are the ones that are used when corresponding and sharing information in the company. However, it was noted that Mr Jackson had not uploaded any copies of the source code to his work email and this raised some eyebrows with regard to the source code having been used ultra vires. However, details regarding the sent email that includes the source code have not fully emerged because accessing his email conversations unethically would be against the privacy policy of the company as well as the laws provided. This does not, therefore, disqualify the fact that the source code was uploaded to his personal email address and an analysis of previous uploads by Mr Jackson using his work email show correspondence with staff over regular work duties. The absence of such correspondence, from witnesses who are his colleagues, regarding the source code of the product further point to an anomaly.

The thumb drive was also found with the source code of the product and this may seem at first sight as a normal affair with regard to his work. However, further analysis shows that employees are not allowed to carry sensitive work material on such devices due to the susceptibility of infringement on intellectual property rights as well as the inherent risk of losing such material or it falling into the wrong hands (Nelson et al., 2014). As such, employees are encouraged to use the inbuilt storage and the cloud storage to access such sensitive material when away from the premises due to safety and privacy concerns. Therefore, having such material on his thumb drive shows intent to not only leave the premises with the property but also that of distribution.

This is further collaborated by the evidence given by Ms Suzanne Fleming, that show the intent to not only leave the premise with the source code but also the premeditation and use of covert methods to achieve his goal. Suzanne declares herself as the fiancé of Mr Jackson and proceeds to hand over a thumb drive that supposedly belongs to Mr Jackson who had given it to her earlier with specific instructions to get home with it after work as well as charging her with its safety. Video evidence from the surveillance cameras show Mr Jackson handing over a device that looks exactly like the thumb drive presented to the court as evidence and which we received from Ms Suzanne Fleming. Further evidence of the source code on the thumb drive also serve to give the impression that Mr Jackson was intent on getting the source code using all available means as presented in my analysis. Therefore, there are no reasons, whatsoever, to dispute where the facts have led and this has been done without bias.

With regard to giving information that only benefits my company’s bottom-line through supporting law enforcement, and in this regard being unfair to Mr Jackson, it would be imperative to say that this stance, were it true, would be detrimental to the company’s bottom-line. Having grown in reputation over the years through our undaunting search for truth through the use of facts and evidence, following wherever the facts may lead, we cannot compromise on such a reputation with one case. In as much as the company has to make profits, ours are made through conducting thorough investigations that would assist law enforcement in procuring justice and justice is attained when truth is revealed on an evidential basis.

 Therefore, I am certain that our analysis of the evidence and the presentation of the analysis serves not to incriminate Mr Jackson at the expense of the truth but rather to give a clear understanding of the evidence gathered and the method of collection as well as the inferences that can be made. Consideration of my work should be made on evidentiary strength as well as the stipulations or parameters within which the investigation was conducted, and in this case, both arguments are laid out well.

The use of civil and criminal witness, the opinion of the witnesses are no admissible is not admissible. They are rather expected to stick to the facts. It is the responsibility of the judge or the jury to make inferences from the facts stated by the witness. This differs from expert witnesses who are considered using the exclusionary rule that makes their opinion be admissible in court but only if they are experts on the relevant matter (Frampton, 2008).

References

Casey, E. (2009). Handbook of digital forensics and investigation. Academic Press.

Frampton, C. (2008). How to be an Effective Expert Witness . Pharmorphix.

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International Conference on Digital Forensics and Cyber Crime, Goel, S., & SpringerLink             (Online service). (2010). Digital forensics and cyber crime: First International ICST            Conference, ICDF2C 2009, Albany, NY, USA, September 30-October 2, 2009,    Revised selected papers. Berlin: Springer-Verlag.

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John, T., & Tierney, J. (2009). Key perspectives in criminology. McGraw-Hill Education    (UK).

Nelson, B., Phillips, A., & Steuart, C. (2014). Guide to computer forensics and       investigations. Cengage Learning.