Electronic Discovery

Electronic discovery (also called e-discovery) refers to any process in which electronic data is located, safe, and searched for use in electronic or criminal legal cases as a proof of use. E-discovery can be done offline on a particular computer or it can be done in the network. Hacking is also a type of e-search ordered by the court or approved by the government for the purpose of obtaining critical evidence.

The nature of digital data makes it very well suited for testing. For one thing, digital data can be easily searched electronically, whereas paper documents should be manually checked. In addition, it is difficult or impossible to completely destroy the digital data, especially if it is found in a network. This is because the data appears on many hard drives and digital files, even if deleted, can not be removed. In fact, the only reliable way to destroy the computer file is to physically destroy every hard drive where the file is stored.

In the process of electronic searching, all types of data can work as evidence. This can include text, images, calendar files, databases, spreadsheets, audio files, animations, web sites, and computer programs. Even malware such as viruses, trojans and spyware can also be tested and tested. In civil or criminal litigation, email can be a particularly valuable source of evidence because people are less careful in these exchange than in lesser copy correspondence such as written memos and postal letters.

Computer forensics, also called cyberforensics, is a special form of e-discovery in which a check is performed on the content of a specific computer's hard drive. After the computer is physically separated, the testers make a digital copy of the hard drive. Then the original computer is locked in a safe facility to maintain its ancient state. All the tests are done on digital copy.

E-discovery is a developed area which goes far beyond mere technology. It gives rise to many legal, constitutional, political, security and personal privacy issues, many of which have yet to be resolved.