You are systems manager for a small company with 15 employees. The company provides forensic computing services, which include forensic investigation, data recovery for commercial organisations and the public, electronic discovery for businesses and consultancy for local solicitors. A technician manages your two separate IT systems each having its own local area network and file-servers. One system stores and processesall the material relating to forensic investigations.The other is the information system required to run the business. She also remotely administers the cloud-based server that hosts your Web-site.
You have developed a long-term relationship with a local University, working closely with a member of staff to support placement students and to teach network forensics.
Consider the following hypothetical situations. You appreciate the importance of seeking professional legal advice, but you like to form your own opinion first to help you understand the advice you receive from your solicitor.
Situations
1. The new networks:
Because of increasing reliability problems and the growing amounts of data that have to be moved around, you are planning to upgrade the investigators’ system, replacing both the network and the server. Because an important contract to analyse disks for a police force will start in three months, it is vital that the system is operational by then.
Amember of staff from the local university has saidhe will help your technicianpurchase and install the new equipment although he can’t start it now, as he is currently busy.This could be done in his own time or as a consultant working for the University. You have also considered using a systems integration companyand you are studying their standard contract. Your technician has recommended saving money by not having a feasibility study because she understands the current system and is aware of your future needs.
a) Discuss the legal issues that are relevant to the quality of the new networkand to protecting your company from problems arising from the installation. You should take a broad view of quality, which would include, for example, timeliness of delivery, adequate security and not just the speed of the network.You should consider whether the choice of supplier affects the legal position. You will need to explain the key issues and relate them to this situation.
b) Discuss the legal issues relevant to protecting data in all three of the company’s systems (the forensic investigation system, the business system and the cloud-based server). In your discussion, identify issues about data privacy and security, handling personal data correctly, transmitting and archiving data.
2. Crime and the Court:
During an investigation of material provided by the police, your company have discovered in the internet cache on a disk from a doctor’s computer, image files that appear to be indecent images of children. It appears that these images have been constructed from images that are themselves legal. On the disk, there are also many photographs from fantasy films (e.g. Lord of the Rings). There is evidence that Invisible Secrets has been installed on the doctor’s computer. (https://www.invisiblesecrets.com/invsecr4.html)
a. Summarise the legal issues relevant to this situation.
b. Advise her on the role of the expert witness and any potential liabilitythat might arise from the expert’s evidence.You do not have to provide any advice about presentation issues or how to deal with questioning while in court.
3. The invention:
You design software that can connect over the network to a computer to capture data for forensic analysis. You have worked with a company technician to develop a prototype. He has now left the company and is working for a competitor. You will be seeking a loan from a bank or private investor to commercialise the software.
Discuss how the law can help protect your invention.