Case Studies: Digital Forensics
These cases demonstrate how HRG’s combination of legal knowledge, investigative expertise and advanced digital forensics can turn data into actionable evidence, achieving positive outcomes for business clients, litigants and individuals.
Trade‑Secret Theft Exposed Through Digital Evidence
When a software firm suspected that a departing engineer had copied proprietary source code, HRG was retained to investigate. Our team imaged the suspect’s workstation and external drives and compared them against company servers. By recovering deleted files and examining metadata, we reconstructed a timeline showing that the engineer had accessed confidential folders outside his role and transferred multiple files to an encrypted USB drive. We also discovered that he had synced those files to a personal cloud account before resigning. After preserving the evidence, HRG provided expert witness testimony explaining our methods and findings in clear, non‑technical language. Result: Confronted with the digital audit trail, the former employee admitted misappropriation. The firm obtained an injunction, recovered its intellectual property and secured a favorable settlement.
Mobile Forensics Exonerates a Driver
In a high‑stakes personal‑injury lawsuit, a delivery driver was accused of texting moments before a collision. HRG’s digital forensics specialists extracted data from the driver’s smartphone, including message timestamps, call logs and GPS location history. Our analysis showed that the last text had been sent more than ten minutes prior to the accident and that the driver’s location data matched the posted speed limit. We also recovered deleted dash‑cam video files from the device’s SD card, which proved that another vehicle had run a red light. Drawing on our experience providing irrefutable facts to support tort cases, we presented a detailed report and testified about our methodology. Result: the opposing party withdrew its allegation of negligence, and our client received a full settlement for his injuries.
Online Harassment Source Identified
A small business owner approached HRG after months of anonymous online harassment and defamatory reviews that were harming her brand. We collected the offending posts and, using forensic tools, traced the metadata and IP addresses back to a single personal laptop. Cross‑referencing login times with the client’s internal logs and social media data helped us identify a disgruntled former contractor as the perpetrator. Throughout the investigation we maintained strict confidentiality and documented every step for admissibility in court. After presenting our findings, law enforcement obtained a confession, and the defamatory content was removed. Result: the harassment ceased immediately, the client’s reputation recovered and the perpetrator was held accountable.