Craig Ball is a longtime adjunct professor teaching Digital Evidence at the University of Texas School of Law. He writes and speaks around the world on e-discovery and computer forensics.

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Charles Patterson has over 35 years experience in the security field. Previous to his current position as Exec Security president, he spent 17 years traveling throughout the United States and the world working in executive protection and providing tech support to security teams.

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Joe Hamblin, director of IT operations for Sprint’s emerging platforms, has more than 25 years of IT experience. In his current position he is responsible for end-user platform engineering including collaboration, Identity Access Management (IAM) and device engineering/management.

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Sherri Davidoff is the CEO of LMG Security, a cybersecurity and digital forensics company. She has more than a decade of experience as an information security professional, specializing in penetration testing, forensics, social engineering testing and web application assessments.

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Keith Lowry has more than 25 years of experience implementing, managing, and directing insider threat, counterintelligence, and intelligence collection programs.

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Special thanks to our sponsors, PInow and SiteLock.

Special thanks to our sponsors, PInow and SiteLock.

Cindy Cohn is the executive director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. From 2000-2015 she served as EFF’s Legal Director as well as its General Counsel. Ms. Cohn first became involved with EFF in 1993, when EFF asked her to serve as the outside lead attorney in Bernstein v. Dept. of Justice, the successful First Amendment challenge to the U.S. export restrictions on cryptography.

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Special thanks to our sponsors, PInow and SiteLock.

Craig Ball is a board certified trial lawyer, certified computer forensic examiner, law professor, and electronic evidence expert, who limits his practice to serving as a court-appointed special master and consultant in computer forensics and electronic discovery. He has served as the special master or testifying expert in computer forensics and electronic discovery in some of the most challenging and celebrated cases in the U.S.

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In this episode of the Digital Detectives, hosts Sharon Nelson and John Simek speak with Clark Hill PLC Of Counsel David G. Ries about data security, Mandiant’s M-Trends, and Verizon’s Data Breach Investigation Reports. David opens the interview with an explanation of what these reports are (summaries developed by security service providers on data breach trends during the past year) and talks about how they help to organize collected information for ease of use. He then analyzes the subtle differences between the two reports, like the way they define terms like data breach and security incident, and gives some insight into the ways each company acquires their data. David also covers the top three key findings provided by each report and gives examples of how this information can be invaluable to law firms seeking to shore up their security shortcomings. He closes the interview with his major takeaways from this year's’ reports and tips for law firms on how this research can aid in strengthening your comprehensive cybersecurity program.

David G. Ries is of counsel in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, office of Clark Hill PLC, where his practice includes environmental, technology, and data protection law and litigation. He is a co-author of “Locked Down: Practical Information Security for Lawyers” (American Bar Association, 2016) and “Encryption Made Simple for Lawyers” (American Bar Association, 2015) and regularly speaks and writes nationally on cybersecurity topics.

In this episode of the Digital Detectives, hosts Sharon Nelson and John Simek chat with Nuix Chief Technology Officer Stephen Stewart about the Panama Papers, the world’s largest breach of information. Stephen explains that a law firm in Panama named Mossack Fonseca had 2.6 terabytes of information taken from them by an anonymous party, who then gave that information to the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung (SZ). The leaked data contained 11.5 million items that consisted of roughly 5 million emails, 3 million databases, 2 million PDF files, and 1 million images. In an attempt to understand and further investigate the received data, SZ then contacted the International Consortium of Investigative Reporters (ICIJ). Stephen talks about what the ICIJ is (basically an international network that includes 165 investigative journalists over 65 countries) and how Nuix’s software was utilized to aid in the data analysis. The group discusses the authorities’ later raid on the law firm’s office and what evidence the digital forensics experts and financial analysts might be looking for. Stephen closes the interview with an summary of the practices that this breach sheds light on, like who the beneficiaries of offshore funds really are and what significant revelations might come from this particular breach.

Stephen Stewart joined Nuix in 2008 and is responsible for leading the evolution of Nuix’s software. He is currently driving the development of Nuix's information governance and big data solutions. Stephen has more than 15 years experience working with both public and private sector organizations, designing and providing solutions for their email, file, document management and archiving systems.

In this episode of the Digital Detectives, hosts Sharon Nelson and John Simek sit down with LMG Security Founder and Senior Security Consultant Sherri Davidoff to discuss cyber security and the audits that are currently available for law firms. Sherri gets the conversation started by breaking down some of the more complex cyber security terminology into easy-to-understand language. The group then ponders factors, such as the loss of client data and law firms being hacked, that prompted this cultural shift within the profession and some of the elements that made it difficult for the industry to justify investing in cyber security until now. The focus then shifts to an analysis of the options available to law firms that are seeking to improve their security standards and ways to prepare lawyers to better interact with clients that might ask to see a firm’s cyber security audits. Sherri then caps off the conversation with a discussion of risk assessment, risk management, and how you present these plans to your clients.

In this episode of Digital Detectives, Sharon Nelson and John Simek interview the American Civil Liberties Union’s Speech Privacy and Technology Project Director and principal legal advisor to Edward Snowden Ben Wizner about the legal battle between Apple and the FBI. Wizner begins by explaining The All Writs Act and how it’s being used to coerce Apple, the FBI’s potential objectives in making this request, and what dangers might be present if the FBI prevails. The conversation then shifts to the global implications for all tech companies if the the precedent is set that Apple must aid in helping the FBI get the contents of this phone and what that might mean for the national security of the United States of America – and the privacy of its citizens. Wizner then gives some insights into what it has been like to be the principal advisor for Edward Snowden and what the case has been like for him as a lawyer.

In this episode of Digital Detectives, Sharon Nelson and John Simek interview FBI special agent and InfraGard coordinator Kara Sidener about the way InfraGard works and why lawyers and other law firm professionals should be interested in joining this two-way information sharing platform.

Topics include:

• The evolution of cybercrime
• The Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, and the private sector
• Who joins InfraGard
• How and why members are vetted
• Benefits for IT professionals trying to secure law firm networks
• Staying informed about clients’ intellectual property issues
• Proactive programming and cross-sector collaboration
• Free resource to provide info on terrorism and cyber threats

In this episode of Digital Detectives, Sharon Nelson and John Simek interview John Tredennick, the CEO of Catalyst Repository Systems, about his new book “TAR for Smart People,” what exactly TAR includes, and specific ways it has helped companies reduce discovery costs. Tredennick begins by explaining the three elements of TAR: teaching the computer algorithm, the algorithm orders review documents by estimated relevance, the lawyers decide what to do when the algorithm presents no more relevant documents. In other words, the computer algorithm continues to learn which documents are relevant to the case based on the current reviewers, and puts potentially important ones on the top of the pile, as it were. Tune in to hear Tredennick describe how this works using a Pandora metaphor, explain each project’s process, and discuss the increased effectiveness of what he termed TAR 2.0.

John Tredennick is CEO of Catalyst Repository Systems, which offers the world’s fastest and most powerful document repositories for large-scale discovery and regulatory compliance. Before founding Catalyst, he spent over twenty years as a nationally-known trial lawyer and litigation partner at a major national firm. He is the author or editor of five legal technology books including his latest, "Tar for Smart People," which he co-authored with Bob Ambrogi.

In this episode of Digital Detectives, Sharon Nelson and John Simek discuss the digital forensics of the Paris attacks and the aftermath, including a surfacing argument about cryptic communication, the response from French, British, and American governments, and how Anonymous, the hacker group, has gotten involved. Beginning with a chronology of events, Sharon walks through the events of last Friday. Citing a BBC article published after the Paris attacks, the hosts analyze how the investigation involved traditional and technological means to gather information about the armed attackers and their whereabouts. In addition to fingerprints and DNA, the investigators used witness video footage, mobile phone triangulation, wifi networks, and IP addresses to correlate intelligence and quickly move in on the suspects. John explains how a comment made by Belgium’s Interior Minister about PlayStation 4 network encryption was misinterpreted and carried away by news media, engaging governments in discussions about legislation that could allow encryption backdoors. Is encryption really the problem and is more government control the solution?

Stay until the end of the podcast to hear about Anonymous’s war on ISIS and the hypocritical nature of ISIS’s use of social media.

In this episode of Digital Detectives, Sharon Nelson and John Simek interview Bill Hamilton, executive director of the UF E-Discovery Project at the University of Florida Levin College of Law, about their use of the Catalyst practicum. They discuss the curriculum’s components, the program’s pedagogical design, and what this means for the future of e-discovery education in law schools.

Topics include:

• What a practicum is
• Digital evidence and students using e-discovery software
• Instructional videos, structured exercises, and quizzes with feedback
• Catalyst’s interest in education and their cloud-based platform
• Testing to strengthen retrieval capacity rather than as an assessment tool
• Applying the case law to concrete situations
• Grading process: low stakes testing and evaluation
• The need for law schools to provide more practical training

In this episode of Digital Detectives, Sharon Nelson and John Simek interview Martin Tully, co-chair of Akerman LLP’s Data Law Practice, about why his firm decided to implement a data breach law group, how data security fits in with current e-discovery and information governance practices, and what every company should include in an incident response plan.

In this episode of Digital Detectives, hosts Sharon Nelson and John Simek analyze the progression of data security over time, look into data loss prevention steps, and consider each potential suspect of the Sony hack. Nelson describes the internet security suites that have been developed to include protection from all different types of attacks. However, she explains, these security systems are unlikely to keep out a sophisticated and determined hacker who is specifically targeting a corporation, law firm, or individual. The newer systems simply try to detect the infiltration and respond to it, observing what data is compromised and trying to identify the hacker. Simek explains several systems that are being used for security including data loss prevention, intrusion detection, and Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) products which correlate data to figure out what's normal.

Nelson and Simek then go on to analyze why Sony was attacked and who may have done it. The hosts explain security blogger Bruce Schneier's theories on the suspects ranging from an official North Korean military operation to a disgruntled ex-employee. Listen to the podcast to hear the hosts' strong case for who they think the hacker was. Nelson also reviews Sony's reaction to the security attack. Stay tuned until the end for the NSA's rumored ability to create a cyber defense system and the international implications of an automated cyber attack response.

In this episode of Digital Detectives, Sharon Nelson and John Simek interview technology marketer Rob Robinson about the current and future trends in data governance, how to choose an e-discovery provider, and events that will influence e-discovery and information governance in 2015. Robinson explains that the combination of software and services that make up the worldwide market for e-discovery in 2014 is just over 6.2 billion dollars and is growing at a consistent rate. He breaks the market down into three categories: developers who create and sell proprietary technologies or services, integrators who package and resell available services with custom development, and aggregators who combine and resell the technologies and services developed and purchased from others. Going into the future, Robinson discusses his excitement over advances in predictive coding, visual classification, and enhancing e-discovery processing. Also, due to corporate pressure for time and cost compression, these e-discovery solutions should continue to become cheaper and more time efficient. At the end of the podcast, Robinson discusses his use of social media to research trends in the information governance market.

Based in Austin, Texas, Rob Robinson is a proven technology marketer who has held senior leadership positions with multiple top-tier legal technology providers. Currently he is a managing partner with technology marketing consultancy ComplexDiscovery Solutions. With a strong interest in eDiscovery, information governance, and social media, Rob writes and posts regularly on technology and marketing topics on his highly referenced ComplexDiscovery blog.

On this episode of Digital Detectives, Sharon Nelson and John Simek interview cybersecurity expert David Bodenheimer about the effects of cyber attacks, whether they are likely to proliferate, the connection between the private sector and government defense, and the legal risks to contractors and bystanders. Bodenheimer first explains how economic cyber crimes are different than cyber war, and gives some examples like the US cyber security threat in 2009, the 2007 cyberattacks on Estonia, and Stuxnet, a computer worm that destroyed many control systems in Iranian nuclear plants. He explains that there is a global cyber race and, in a few years, no self-respecting military will be without cyber attack capabilities. Unfortunately, there are no international treaties or laws that directly govern cyber weapons and war. Bodenheimer also discusses US laws that federal agencies and contractors could face to account for damages. These could include the DHS SAFETY Act, Public Law 85-804, and various legislative proposals, but there is no clean fit.

David Bodenheimer is a Government Contracts partner and litigator heading Crowell and Moring's Homeland Security practice. David brings 32 years of experience in doing business with the government. He has represented Fortune 500 companies in cyber disputes with federal agencies, advised on security compliance and cloud standards, and handled a broad spectrum of cybersecurity and privacy issues in the public sector.

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In this episode of The Digital Detectives, Sharon Nelson and John Simek discuss the evolution of technology and case discovery, how predictive coding works and is priced, and examples of cases that have involved predictive coding. Simek first explains the importance of culling, or filtering out unimportant data sets through DeNISTing, deduping, or filtering by dates. He then explains predictive coding in its simplicity: to feed a computer program information based on discovery attorneys have already done until the computer can accurately predict which information is important. Simek and Nelson then go on to examine the prices vendors charge for the predictive coding process and in which cases it might be profitable for the law firm or client. There is a steep, expensive learning curve involved; many mid-sized law firms probably will not profit and even very large cases only save an average of 15% using predictive coding. However, Nelson explains, predictive coding is the future of discovery, so it is important for lawyers to pay attention to when the benefits outweigh the costs.

Nelson concludes the podcast by giving examples of when predictive coding has already appeared in court cases. The landmark case was Da Silva Moore v. Publicis Groupe, in which Magistrate Judge Andrew Peck allowed predictive coding to be used as long as the defense and prosecution agree to its use, there are a large volume of documents, it is the superior technology, it is more cost effective, and it is transparent and defensible. Inevitably, the conclusion is that it is not for the judge to micromanage the discovery process.

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In this episode of The Digital Detectives, Sharon Nelson and John Simek interview ESI preservation expert James Kurz about how Rule 37(e) works and what the consequences are for the future of ESI preservation. Kurz explains that the rule, which only deals with ESI, proposes a three part test before considering spoliation issues: the ESI should have been preserved in the anticipation or conduct of litigation and is lost, the ESI was lost because the party failed to take reasonable steps to preserve the information, and the missing information cannot be restored or replaced with additional discovery. If this test is passed, the federal court may then impose remedies, or if intention is proved, order more serious sanctions. He explains that Rule 37(e) will make a more homogenous legal process for e-discovery, and will solve some of the controversy surrounding the costs of ESI preservation and e-discovery for businesses. Although the rule faces the Judicial Court, Supreme Court, and then Congress, Kurz believes it will go through and be effective in December 2015.

James Kurz is a partner in the Alexandria VA law firm of Redmon, Peyton and Braswell LLP. His practice focuses on business litigation, including computer, software, and communications technologies cases. He also has an emphasis in the challenge of electronic discovery and the issues of information governance and co-wrote the white paper "The Long-Awaited Proposed FRCP Rule 37(e), Its Workings and Its Guidance for ESI Preservation."

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In this episode of Digital Detectives, Sharon Nelson and John Simek interview e-discovery solutions expert Aaron Lawlor about what is involved with ESI and data collection, current trends in data analysis, and future advances in technology and process. Lawlor urges every litigator to become experienced with the state and federal rules involving e-discovery in order to better serve their clients. He explains the process of research and documentation of key players in the case, and then collecting, analyzing, and refining any relevant information before presenting to the counsel. In order to facilitate this process, lawyers and data collectors narrow the data set early by a process of visualizing connections and communication mapping. It is important, Lawlor says, for every lawyer to become familiar with e-discovery and data collection, since it is an increasingly important source of information.

Aaron Lawlor is the senior director of Global Legal Solutions at UnitedLex Corporation. He has spent the past decade addressing his clients' e-discovery needs, first as an attorney at Am Law 100 firm, then as the cofounder of a boutique consulting and managed document review company. His company was acquired by UnitedLex in 2013 and, in his current role, he partners with in-house and outside council to implement value-driven e-discovery solutions.

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In this episode of Digital Detectives, Sharon Nelson and John Simek interview ediscovery and compliance attorney Patrick Oot about how attorneys should be prepared on technology issues when they start to investigate criminal and civil matters. Everyone leaves technology footprints, Oot explains. Whether dealing with an internal investigation or with client data, the most important asset is unbiased, comprehensive, and well documented research. When hiring a digital investigator, the firm should always find an outside expert who is experienced with data breaches, understands how data moves through the system, and can manage proper narrative to the regulators. Properly conducting a digital investigation can make the difference in the credibility and success of a law firm.

Patrick Oot is a partner in the DC office of Shook Harty and Bacon LLC where he leads the practice on e compliance and digital investigations. He is one of the few ediscovery and compliance attorneys in the nation that possesses the tripartite experience of an in-house corporate counsel from a fortune 16 organization, a senior attorney at a federal regulatory agency, and a partner in a large law firm. Patrick has extensive experience advising on discovery and investigative matters involving commercial litigation, compliance, regulatory requests, antitrust matters, and personnel issues.

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On this episode of Digital Detectives, Sharon Nelson and John Simek interview Bob Ambrogi, a lawyer and journalist who recently wrote about the LexisNexis survey. They ask him about the implications of the survey, what security measures lawyers should be taking, how frequently clients are hurt by lack of security, and why lawyers are generally resistant to learning about data encryption. Ambrogi explains that an overall lack of information, ignored ethics rulings, lack of time, and assumed difficulty are the reasons lawyers often refuse to learn how to safely share data. He encourages lawyers, especially the ones in small or solo firms, to seek out a consultant to learn about the relatively easy encryption tools and techniques. After all, no lawyer wants to be a part of the 77%.

Bob Ambrogi is a Massachusetts lawyer and journalist and has covered legal technology and the Internet for two decades. He writes the "Ambrogi on Tech" column for the ABA Journal and his blog LawSites, launched in 2002, is in the ABA Journal Blawg 100 Hall of Fame. Since 2005, he has co-hosted the legal-affairs podcast Lawyer 2 Lawyer also on the Legal Talk Network.

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Jennifer Lynch is a senior staff attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to defending civil liberties in the digital world. At EFF, Jennifer works on privacy issues in new technologies such as biometrics, domestic drones, and location tracking devices. She successfully sued the Federal Aviation Administration and Customs and Border Protection to obtain thousands of pages of previously unpublished drone records and has testified about facial recognition and its Fourth Amendment implications before the Senate Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law.

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Ralph C. Losey is a shareholder of Jackson Lewis P.C., a law firm specializing in labor and employment law with over 52 offices nationwide and 800 attorneys. Ralph serves as the firm's National e-Discovery Counsel in charge of electronic discovery issues. Ralph has limited his practice to e-discovery since 2006 and is the author of five books on e-discovery law and multiple law review articles. Ralph is also co-founder of the IT-Lex foundation and the Electronic Discovery Best Practices group, and the developer of an online training course in e-discovery, e-DiscoveryTeamTraining.com. Ralph is a frequent speaker at e-discovery conferences worldwide and a leading contributor in the field of Legal Search.

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David Ries is a member in the Pittsburgh office of Clark Hill Thorp Reed, LLP where he practices in the areas of environmental, commercial, and technology law and litigation. He regularly deals with privacy and security issues in his practice and frequently writes and speaks on them for legal, professional, and academic groups.

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Schorr is a technologist and Chief Executive Officer for Roland Schorr and Tower, a professional consulting firm headquartered in Flagstaff, Arizona with offices in Hawaii and Oregon. He is also the author of several books and articles on technology, including The Lawyer's Guide to Microsoft Outlook, The Lawyer's Guide to Microsoft Word, and Microsoft OneNote in One Hour for Lawyers. He's been a Microsoft MVP for more than 15 years and involved with management and technology for more than 20 years.